Rangers Ride
by jediryu
Summary: The Galaxy Rangers ride again!  An adventure of the heros of the New Frontier.  Constructive reviews always welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note_

_The Galaxy Rangers belong to _

_Gaylord Enterprises, Inc., KOCH Entertainment LP and Red Sky Entertainment, Inc._

_I don't own them; I'm just borrowing them for a little while._

_So please don't sue._

**Rangers Ride**

**By**

**jediryu ©**

**Preface**

In a safe and secure observation post underneath the lunar regolith on the Earth-side face of the moon, the Andorian scientist Waldo looked on at his good friend Zozo of Kirwin, and heaved a heavy sigh before speaking, "Are you absolutely certain that the Humans are the allies we seek? Look at them. Take a good look at them Zozo. The Andorian Science Bureau, among others of the League of Planets, has been monitoring their broadcasts since the humans discovered RF radiation for themselves, which at the time, on their primitive calendar, was the early twentieth century, through their technological evolution to two dimensional moving pictures, what the humans call movies and television, into their computer age and their world wide web as they call it."

Zozo's cultured voice answered back, "Your point being Waldo?"

Waldo continued, "By all that is sentient, how can you possibly think that they are worth our time? Their broadcasts are full of reckless procreative activities, senseless aggression and ridiculously large combustive conflagrations. If they survive much past the new millennium, as they measure it, I for one will be too surprised for words."

Zozo smiled at Waldo and said, "The Humans can be a great people Waldo . . . they wish to be. They only need the proper guidance to help them find their greater potential that lies just below the surface, or put simply Waldo, I have faith."

Waldo chuckled explosively, "Fortunately for us Zozo, both of our respective species are very long-lived. I grant you that we _may_ see this great potential you speak of, but I don't believe it's there. If it is, it will take many, many years of observations to find it."

Zozo smiled again, "That's why, even with our respective life spans, while we're here on their moon during this long term observation, we'll go into stasis for ten years at a time, leaving our instruments on passive scan. We'll spend a year or so going over the observations we've collected to that point, and then go back into stasis until the humans are ready. Then we'll make contact."

**Preface Part 2**

In the Earth year 2020, the final breakthroughs in fusion energy were made. By the year 2025, fusion energy was fine-tuned and made practical for all the people of Earth. By 2035, industrial and economic parity of all the nations of Earth had been achieved, fossil fuels ceased all production and there were no longer any third world nations. Those individuals who chose to reject this parity were left largely alone. These few groups were comprised of religious extremists, anti-government separatists and general luddites. By 2040, these few groups themselves became extinct but for a few isolated communities who found a way to coexist with the rest of the world and were left to their own devices.

In 2041, a boy was born to an average family in the Midwestern United States. His name was Quentin Ball. It soon became clear that he would become one of the great geniuses of his time, like Mozart and Einstein in theirs. Due to an accident with a home chemistry set, Quentin became the youngest bald person in his school. Soon the nickname Q-ball started to make the rounds but instead of anger or denial, Quentin embraced it and began to answer to it as his everyday name and his detractors, with no target to lock on to, soon stopped. That and the fact that Q-ball was the youngest black belt in the history of his Aikido school, was usually persuasion enough.

In 2056, at the age of 15, for his Master's Thesis, Q-ball finished building the world's first universal translator matrix, allowing all people to communicate with each other in real-time without the aid of a human interpreter. The first units were hand-held, the size of a pocket calculator but soon, as with all things, they were refined and became smaller. Soon the translators were the size of an ear-bud like one would use with a digital music device, then a microdot that would adhere to the ear painlessly and finally at its most refined, a subcutaneous implant in the ear. The technology branched out to a myriad of applications, particularly in the medical field. For victims of severe head traumas, an implant was used that could help bridge the damaged sections of the brain and allow these people to return to society, fully functional. This matrix alone made Q-ball a very rich man. Money, in and of itself, held little meaning for him, but with the money he made from his matrix, he channeled it into his research, made more breakthroughs large and small. Among other things, the first of the medical discoveries that enabled the doubling or even tripling of the average human life expectancy. Soon, various governments sought him out for help in addressing their own scientific issues.

Eventually, Q-ball went on to build his own research and development facility called Longshot. Named thus due to Q-ball's penchant for taking on projects that were considered 'longshots'. There he brought together the best and brightest minds humanity had to offer. Together, these researchers at Longshot developed practical and dependable suspended animation for use in sleeper ships capable of speeds a significant fraction of light and the artificial intelligences needed to watch over the sleeping colonists. Also among the discoveries made, were safe, reliable medical prosthetics, bionic limbs for accident victims, artificial gravity and anti-gravity.

By 2070, with the help of the colony sleeper ships that had been leaving semi-regularly since 2060, all wars on Earth ended. The basic premise for this, put simply, 'If you don't like the way things are on Earth, leave. Find some other planet to live on and do as you wish'. Due to this exodus, population density the world over stabilized and eventually reached equilibrium. The planetary environment began recovering from use, misuse and abuse, both accidental and intentional. Clean air and water became more and more commonplace and an overall maturing of the human condition could be observed.

Finally, in 2086, two peaceful aliens journeyed to Earth, seeking our help. In return, they gave us the plans for our first hyperdrive, allowing mankind to open the doors to the stars . . .

There has been assembled a team of unique individuals to protect Earth and its allies. Courageous pioneers committed to the highest ideals of justice and dedicated to preserving law and order across the new frontier . . .

This is just one of the continuing adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. . .


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

**Earth, Private Residence of Major Zachary Foxx**

It was the morning of William "Little Zach" Foxx's last day on leave, visiting his father, Major Zachary Foxx, when the inevitable explosion finally happened.

"Dammit Dad! Why can't you let it go? Mom is dead and this unhealthy obsession of yours to get her psychocrystal is only going to put you in a mental hospital!"

Zachary Foxx turned sharply to face his firstborn child, his son William or 'Little Zach' to his closest friends, "How dare you say that! Your mother is still very much alive and I'll get her back! Just you wait and see Little Zach."

His son shook his head. "Stop calling me that! I'm 26 years old now and a Galaxy Ranger just like you, Major!"

Zachary hung his head in resignation. "I know that Little - - er, William. You _are_ an adult and I should be treating you like one, it's just that I . . ."

William walked over to stand next to his father, put a hand on his shoulder and said, "I know Dad, I still miss her too, but I've dealt with it and moved on. You're right too, in that technically, she isn't dead, but I wouldn't call being sealed up in a stasis tube at Longshot exactly living. Would you?"

Zach looked to his son again before speaking in a quieter tone, "I can't give up hope William. I just can't. Hope is all I have left . . . that and you and your sister Jessica." Shaking his head, Zachary continued, "Who gave you permission to grow up when I wasn't looking? Sometimes I get up in the morning and knock on yours and Jessica's bedroom doors to ask what you want for breakfast only to remember just as I start to knock, that you and your sister both have long since moved out on your own."

William put a uniformed arm around his father's shoulders, smiled easily and said, "I wouldn't call the barracks a place of my own per se, and while Jessica is finishing her Master's Degree, she's renting a house with two of her schoolmates from college but I know what you're trying to say Dad, I really do, but sometimes I get so frustrated with you. Don't get mad with me please but I have to say something really hard right now."

His dad took a breath and nodded for his son to go on.

William said, "I honestly think Mom would understand if you were to have her stasis tube turned off and her body allowed to die. As a widower you'll finally be able to move on. You're only 47 now and with the current state of medical science, barring disease or accidental death, no small feat for Galaxy Rangers like us, you've got another 50, 60, 70 years or more of active living ahead of you, maybe longer. I've been hearing about these new longevity treatments coming out of Longshot. More and more people are living active, healthy lives past 110 or 120. One of Jessica's professors is pushing 125 and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Maybe you should think about finding someone new, even if it's just an occasional intimate companion."

Zachary hugged his son and then stepped away to arm's length and said, "You're right son but still, I'll keep trying to get your mother back for as long as I'm able. You have to know that and I hope you can understand that even after all this time, I still love your mother with every fiber, organic and bionic both, of my being."

William nodded his head. "You wouldn't be my dad if you didn't. I still think you should let her go, but until you realize this for yourself, there's nothing more I can do except to support whatever you decide. That being said, if you ever put together a mission that has a better than even chance of success, call me. I'll be in my Ranger Interceptor and at your side so fast you'd think I'd teleported."

Zachary smiled and said, "As your father I'm proud of you and who you've become. While I intentionally don't inquire with your commanding officers about your performance so as prevent the appearance of undue command influence, they still pass on the occasional message about how dedicated you are to the badge and all it stands for. But as your superior officer, I have to say don't you _dare_ desert your post to come to my aid or I'll snap you back so hard you'd think you're a first year cadet at the Ranger Academy again! Come the day when I can stage a mission that will result in the return of your mother's psychocrystal, undue command influence be damned, I _will_ call for you. Believe that son. Believe it and never, _ever_ forget it."

Little Zach nodded, "I do dad. I _do_ believe you. I've gotta go now. It's been great seeing you again while I was home on leave. I'm going to go visit Jessica and return to my duty station out on the frontier day after tomorrow. See you on the flip side sometime?"

Zachary shook his son's hand and said, "Count on it."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

**The planet of Frontier**

Sergeant Shane "Goose" Gooseman emerged from hyperspace on approach to the planet Frontier. Thinking back to his mission briefing from the day before, Goose's ears still burned with traces of embarrassment and self-disappointment. When Commander Walsh had called him into his office, Goose thought little of it until Walsh started speaking. _"Sergeant Gooseman. After leaving here, you are to depart immediately in your Interceptor and go to Longshot and pick up a very special piece of equipment for use in the field. From there, you are to go to the planet of Frontier. We've just received a reliable report that two of the final three Supertroopers still at large have settled and been living there for the last few years. Given the sheer volume of such reports that B.E.T.A. receives daily, its little wonder it's taken so long to come to my attention. Officially, I am empowered to tell you Sergeant Gooseman, that you do have some discretionary leeway on this assignment. Unofficially, I'll tell you that if you don't give me a 100% accurate accounting of your activities on this assignment, your time as a Galaxy Ranger will be over and I will personally dropkick your ass into the Empty Zone! Do I make myself absolutely clear Sergeant Gooseman?" _Goose straightened to Academy perfect attention and saluted. _"As ordered Commander Walsh." _

Bringing his attention back to the present, Goose contacted traffic control and was given a priority approach vector. As Goose approached his assigned parking space on the side of the field reserved for V.I.P. traffic, he eased back on his throttle and found himself landing in less than half the time of an ordinary spacecraft. Bringing his Interceptor into a soft landing, Goose shut all systems down to standby then took his flight helmet off and set it on the console in front of him. "Is everything good to go Elma? I don't know how long I'll be. Hopefully not long, but I never can tell with assignments like this."

The A.I. for his ship, Elma, appeared as a large eyeball on the main screen, her simulated iris was identical to Niko's green ones, but her voice slightly softer. Goose had been smitten with Niko from the first moment they met, but circumstances being what they were, with the two of them on the same team, and the rules and regulations concerning inappropriate relations within the Rangers had effectively put a stop to anything long term, before it could start. Still, all things being equal, and with the way that Goose's Interceptor was constantly being adjusted and improved, it was an easy thing to program Elma as he had, but he'd never mentioned it to Niko. Elma's soft voice said, "Roger that Goose; all systems are operating within normal parameters. Take care of yourself out there Goose."

Goose's naturally growl-like voice softened slightly, "I will Elma. Deploy Triton for me please and once I'm gone, lock everything down and activate your security measures."

"Orders acknowledged Goose." With that, Elma's eye closed and the monitor faded to standby.

Opening the canopy and disembarking with a short jump from the lip of the cockpit, Goose landed smoothly as the canopy sealed up behind him. Moments later, Triton's carry-pod emerged from its storage slot on the ship. With the touch of some controls, Triton's faceplate lit up. Getting to his feet, he shook his head and mane and emitted a very horse-like snicker. He said, "Goose my friend, we ride again you and I?"

Goose took his seat on the built in saddle and patted Triton on the side of his head module as if he were an organic horse and said, "You know it buddy; into town and to the Sheriff's Office for a professional courtesy visit and then to our business; yaa!"

Rearing onto his back legs, Triton let out another whinny and leapt forward at his rider's command.

A short time later, Goose dismounted Triton and tied him to the hitching post in front of the Sheriff's Office. As he neared the door, he heard the sound of a harmonica being played from inside. The only difference was that this harmonica music actually sounded pretty good compared to some of the attempts he'd heard over his years of traveling the new frontier on one mission or another for the Galaxy Rangers. Entering the Office, Goose saw the source of the music was the Sheriff herself, feet up on the desk. Goose did a double take when he saw the Sheriff's face.

"Annie! Is that you?"

The Sheriff, Annie, put her harmonica down on the desk, stood up and walked around it to stand face to face with Goose. Her long brown hair was tied back away from her comely face with its natural beauty, in a very functional, almost severe, braid. She wore a plain button-up white shirt under a faded brown vest with her badge of office in the appropriate place over her left breast, red pants with permanent stains of trail dust on the legs that turned the red to a muddy shade of burgundy, well worn boots on her feet, and an equally worn holster with pistol on her right hip. Her hat which could be seen to be equally stained with trail dust and water spots, sat on her desk at arm's reach. Her pleasant voice held no note of welcome, warmth or anger. "Well, well, well; Galaxy Ranger Shane Gooseman. Never thought I'd see the day when you walked through my door again."

Before Goose could say anything else, Annie struck him with a right cross. Goose, seeing it coming, rolled with it but stood there as his head turned back to face Annie. "Okay, I had that one coming Annie. Feel better now?"

Annie looked on as a small trickle of blood that came from the split lip she'd just given Goose ran down his chin to drip on the floor of her office, but barely restrained her surprise when she saw his lip stop bleeding and heal right in front of her eyes. "I learned to hate you somethin' fierce these eight years since we saw each other last. You said I'd always be in your thoughts and heart but after our last encounter when your Captain Foxx told the people of my village that the League of Planets would welcome our world into it and help us get on our collective feet as a member of the galactic community, I never heard from you again."

Shane said, "I meant it when I said it Annie but things change. Since you brought up the subject though, I want you to know that I'll always care about you. I thought you were going to stay on your world and run your father's ranch for him? What happened?"

Annie went back behind her desk and sat down. Facing him from her desk she said, "_You_ happened Shane. My Dad was ready to marry me off to the boy next door but I told him that I was gonna wait for you. Three years later, not a word from you, my Dad said I had to marry and settle down or leave. My brothers had all gotten wives of their own, I was the only one not settled yet so I left. Wasn't sure where exactly I was gonna go so I figured I'd travel earthward, taking on the odd job here and there until my money ran out or I found a calling somewhere. I'd just gotten here to Frontier, my money was all but gone and the last Sheriff had been gunned down by Macross and his Black Hole Gang just a few days prior to my arrival. At first I was only going after Macross and his boys for the bounties on their heads."

Goose couldn't hide the disgust in his voice as he exclaimed, "Bounty Hunting? You're better than that Annie, or at least I thought you were. You don't need that kind of scum!"

Annie slapped both hands down on her desk with a hard smack loud enough to go through the room and yelled, "I was hungry and needed a roof over my head you egotistical son of a bitch! When have you _ever_ been faced with that kind of situation? Until you do, don't _even_ think about looking down your high and mighty series 5 implant enhanced nose at me!"

Goose nodded and said, "I'm sorry Annie, I shouldn't have spoken like that. You're right; I haven't been faced with that exact choice. The fact that you're still here says you made out pretty well. What happened?"

Annie took a deep breath to calm down and spoke again, "At first no one thought I could do it by myself. Thought I'd get killed. Some of the locals even started making bets on how long I'd last. Seems the Black Hole Gang had been coming and going pretty regular like. The Sheriff that got killed wasn't the first, so I made them a counter bet. If I brought in Macross and his two lieutenants, Patch and Daisy Omega, they'd give me the bounties and the Sheriff's badge. The Black Hole Gang had gotten sloppy, real sloppy by this time. I scouted out their hideout, which wasn't much of a hideout anymore and got the drop on them with some stun grenades. I got half of them with just the grenades, the other half made it out but most of them were too sluggish from the stun charges. Patch tried to gut me with a knife so I ended up shooting him in the throat, seems he didn't remember that you don't bring a knife to a gunfight. I planted two more of the gang right next to Patch, got Macross into a sturdy pair of stun cuffs and Daisy too. Macross, as the leader of the gang was tried, convicted and hung like the miserable dog he was and Daisy, as his sole surviving accomplice got life plus twenty in the Deltoid Rock. I got the bounties and the Sheriff's job. The town folk were so surprised at my survival and my no-nonsense approach to the whole thing that they built a house and gave it to me to live in for as long as I want the job. With the money from the bounties, I could have continued on my way but I like it here on Frontier. The people are great and I like the job too."

Goose nodded his head. "I'm glad you're doing well for yourself Annie, I really am."

Annie accepted the praise and changed gears. "What can I do for you as the Sheriff of this here township on Frontier, Ranger Gooseman?"

Goose said, "You don't need to be so formal Annie. At any rate, this is a courtesy visit to tell you that I'm here to tend to some unfinished business for B.E.T.A."

Annie nodded her head in understanding. "You're here for those two Supertroopers aren't you?"

Goose's eyes widened as he said, "How did you know about the Supertroopers in general, let alone the two I'm here for?"

Annie chuckled and said, "Goose, I may have grown up on a provincial world in the Empty Zone, but I have come a _very_ long way since that time. As Sheriff I get regular updates from B.E.T.A. Mountain, plus, you seem to have forgotten that when we first met and your implant was malfunctioning, you mentioned to me that you were human but with a very special gift, that was why you were turning into that monster from time to time. I started hearing stories of the Supertroopers right from the start after I took this job on, especially because most of them were wanted criminals in the first place. From there it wasn't too hard to figure out that your shape-shifting abilities weren't exactly what one would call 'naturally' occurring."

Goose said, "I didn't mean to imply that you were ignorant Annie. Sorry. I _do_ remember that conversation now that you mention it. Anyway, I may not have to arrest them unless you want me to. For now, I just need to talk with them both one more time. I'll decide what I have to do from there."

Annie said, "Fair enough. You'll find Darkstar in the open market this time of day. It's about a half kilometer down the road from here. Matter of fact, I was about ready to make my daily rounds. She always goes to the Market at this time every week for those few things she can't grow herself out at her and Ray's place on the river, three kilometers east of town. She don't go by the name Darkstar anymore though. Calls herself Dara Lawson nowadays; Ray still goes by that name but he dropped the 'Sting' part just after they came to Frontier, oh, must be about five years or so by now. He goes and meets her at the Market after he gets off work."

Gooseman raised an eyebrow, "Stingray has a job? A real, honest to Gods job? This I'll have to see to believe."

Annie said, "Believe it Shane; better still, talk to them both and you'll understand how it's possible. Just keep your blasters in their holsters though. I fully understand that as a Galaxy Ranger, you have jurisdiction anywhere and everywhere across the New Frontier, but this is still _my_ town and I don't want anyone shooten' it up unless I say so. Got it?"

Gooseman said, "No problem Annie. We'll try it your way for now, but if this meeting goes south, we'll do things _my_ way from then on."

Annie said, "Fair enough Shane. Let me get my horse and I'll take you to the Market."

Twenty minutes later, Goose had entered the Market astride Triton with Annie alongside. Everywhere he looked he saw the signs of a healthy local economy. Blue skinned Kiwi farmers to the left, Pedulant vendors to the right, local folk with their kids in tow, regular farmers, human and nonhuman alike, were haggling with the assorted merchants for the best price on their goods. Goose even saw a pair of Girkins on the far end of the Market wearing light ponchos and hats drawn low over their eyes.

Annie pointed to a vendor at a slight diagonal from the Market entrance, "Darkstar or Dara, as she goes by now will be over at that vendor any minute now. Here she comes now; she's wearing that violet ankle-length dress with the black trim. You might not recognize her at first Goose, she's changed some. Her hair is still that exotic blend of black and white, so she's taken to wearing it up, under a wide brim hat that hangs sorta low so as not to attract too many stares."

Goose said, "Thanks Annie but I'd recognize Darkstar anywhere, anytime. Let me handle this on my own, will you please?"

Annie answered, "Alright Goose. I'll be on the other side of the Market talking with my Neighborhood Watch Captain. Just remember what I said about those blasters of yours. I know that by default they're set to 'stun' but they can still punch holes in lightweight things. Understand?"

"You're the boss Sheriff," Goose said and directed Triton to come up from behind Darkstar.

Dara Lawson, once the Supertrooper known as Darkstar, walked up to her favorite vendor's table and said, "Afternoon there Hank. What have you got today?"

Hank was an older fellow and rather fond of the more archaic mannerisms towards beautiful women. He took his hat off his head in a salutary greeting before putting it back on over his thinning grayish brown hair and said, "Afternoon darling Dara. Just for you I held onto a couple of Kiwi marshmallow fruits and some of my best Bovo cutlets from the processor on the far side of Frontier; came in by stasis truck just this morning."

Dara laughed lightly and blushed slightly. "Hank, you're incorrigible, you know that don't you? I'm a happily married woman now."

Hank smiled in return, "I know that Dara but it don't cost me none to let you know that if I was a few years younger, or you a few years older and not so married, I'd of swept you off your feet just after you came to Frontier."

Dara laughed lightly again and said with clear humor in her voice, "You're a lecherous old man Hank, but I like you anyway. I'll take those Marshmallow fruits you mentioned and six cutlets with as little marbling as you've got please."

"Sure thing Dara." Hank said.

Dara was so focused on Hank and conversing with him as he finished packing up her purchase that she didn't notice the shadow from behind her until the shadow spoke. Like a drop of cold rainwater down the back of her neck, Dara straightened up and turned towards the unforgettable growl of her former fellow Supertrooper and one time lover, Shane Gooseman.

"Been a long time Darkstar . . ."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

Goose dismounted Triton and tied him off to the pole of one of the vendors' stalls about six feet away from Darkstar. Walking up behind her, all of his senses were on alert, looking, watching, waiting for Stingray to try and drop the heavy end of the figurative hammer on his head. His shadow fell on Darkstar's back as she was finishing a purchase of some kind. He could tell that her attention was on the vendor and nowhere else when he was able to stand right behind her and say, "Been a long time Darkstar . . ."

Darkstar straightened up like she'd just been hit with an old fashioned taser stun gun as she turned to face him. "You could say that Shane and its Dara now, Dara Lawson. How have you been? Are you here for Ray and me?"

Goose kept the surprise from visibly showing when she turned to face him. Annie had been right, he barely recognized her. The black stripes that had spread across her face in the star-shape that had given her the name Darkstar were gone. Her face was lightly tanned now, her eyes as dark and beautiful as ever. Her hair, what he could see of it under the brim of her hat still had the black and white striping. Even though they had been very close in their Supertrooper days and Shane thought he knew every curve of her, every sensuous line of her form intimately, he only barely saw the same contours on her face now. He had never spoken of it openly, not even with Commander Walsh or Zachary, but Darkstar had been the first woman Shane had ever made love to. He loved her back then, but then she'd chosen an uncertain future with Stingray, always on the run, always looking over her shoulder, over an honorable life of service to B.E.T.A. with him.

The woman Goose knew as Darkstar looked up to meet his eyes.

She couldn't stop the memories of their private times together back at the Supertrooper Training Facility. She knew every straight line of him, every taut ripple of muscle under his fair skin. She remembered how his abdominal muscles would quiver just so, when she touched him, just before they would make love. She thought to herself, '_He's still handsome as ever. More so now because he's matured since then; that shaggy blond hair of his still makes me want to run my fingers through it. He's still in fighting trim but his face has a few lines now, more of stress than age, I think.'_

The vendor, Hank, only saw Shane's face and head over Dara's, he was so tall. He asked, "Is this fellow bothering you Dara? You want I should call the Sheriff?"

Shane shifted his eyes to Hank and growled out, "It's not your business pal. Just tend to yourself." Shane saw the vendor involuntarily step back a pace at the sound of his voice and start to reach for something under the counter. Shane said, "Reach for it buddy and you'll be in jail before you hit the ground after I've stunned you. This is Galaxy Ranger business."

Darkstar made a half turn so she could see either one of them by simply turning her head and said, "It's alright Hank. Don't worry about me. This Galaxy Ranger and I are old acquaintances."

Hank stopped his hand and very slowly put it back on the countertop and said, "If you say so Dara. My apologies Ranger . . . meant no offense."

Shane answered back, "No blood no report. Sorry if I came on a little strong there." Putting his eyes back on Darkstar, he said, "We need to talk and I don't want to do it in front of your friend here. Let's take a walk across the Market."

Darkstar said, "Okay Shane, just let me finish paying for my things here and then we can go talk."

Goose stepped back a pace or two so as not to intimidate Hank the vendor any more than he already had and waited while Darkstar reached into her purse. He thought to himself, '_When did she ever carry a purse? She probably has a light blaster or two in there. This is getting weird. Darkstar actually paying for something instead of letting Ray steal it for her?'_

Darkstar took the change from her payment in hand from Hank, picked up her bag of items, turned to stand next to Shane, and the two started walking, unconsciously falling into step together across the Market place.

Shane spoke first as soon as they were out of earshot of Hank, "As to why I'm here Darkstar . . . I mean _Dara_, maybe it is to take you and Ray back, maybe not. I've been given some discretion in the matter. The last time the three of us met, I let you both go and said in my report to B.E.T.A. that yours and Ray's appearance was little more than unsubstantiated rumors, that the small time thug that had employed you both was just using the rumor of a Supertrooper who could set fire with his eyes and his female companion who could blind anyone just by looking at them to keep the local populace cowed and fearful so that he could do whatever he wanted, when he wanted. My report passed muster with the leadership of B.E.T.A. but my C.O., you remember him, Commander Walsh? He knew that I'd had feelings for you and that I had essentially filed a false report to cover for you. He was so disappointed in me that it actually hurt to face him. It took me a long time to get back his trust, let alone get back on the promotion grid as well as go on solo missions again."

The woman once known as Darkstar, now just Dara, nodded her head before speaking. "Yes. I remember Walsh and Dr. Nagata and that pathetic worm Senator Whiner who pumped all of us Supertroopers full of element 'X'. All of us but you Shane; how are Walsh and Nagata these days?"

Shane said, "Commander Walsh is getting older now but is still pretty active. There are rumors around B.E.T.A. that he plans on retiring soon so that he can spend more time with his grandkids. Nagata is working side by side with Q-ball on all manner of things large and small at Longshot. Point in fact, one of his and Q-ball's discoveries is how I can say to you that maybe I'm here to take you and Ray back, or maybe not. When I see Ray, if he doesn't try to kill me on sight first, is when I'll tell you both about it. It _might_ please you to know that Senator Whiner was officially censured a few years back for shady dealings and eventually a special election was called and he was impeached and removed from Office. He barely avoided going to jail for the bovo droppings he got into, but he _has_ been forbidden from ever holding public office again."

Dara smiled at that last bit and said, "It's good to know that the old saying is true, what goes around, comes around."

Shane smiled slightly at her comment before speaking again. "At first when Sheriff Annie said I might not recognize you I had to scoff but then I saw it's true. I almost _didn't_ recognize you. What happened? If you don't mind my asking that is?"

Dara smirked and said, "As it turns out, my genetic make-up allows for a sort of adaptive camouflage. Problem was, it was dormant until a very specific set of parameters occurred. When they did, my facial striping disappeared and my psychic ability went dormant for a time. It's back now, my ability, though it's a little weaker now, but the striping never came back and truth be told, I rather like it that way. Even with humans having spread throughout the League of Planets and all the contacts that have been made with other sentient lifeforms, it was still hard to walk down a street somewhere and have people stop and stare at me."

Shane asked the obvious question, "What was this 'very specific' set of circumstances you speak of?"

Dara simply said, "I got pregnant."

Goose stopped in midstride in the middle of the Market and said, "_What _was that you say_?"_

Dara stopped in midstride herself, turned to Goose and said again, "I got pregnant."

Goose recovered and came back to stand next to Dara before speaking. "I thought the Supertroopers were all sterile, to prevent the mixing and passing along of the various DNA cocktails that made each of us what we are."

Dara answered, "So did we Goose, but when I started getting sick in the mornings I went to a doctor that Ray and I both trust implicitly. He knows what we both are but his Hippocratic Oath prevents him from telling anyone else. He was just as surprised as Ray and I. This doctor who bills himself as 'just an old country doctor' wrote it off to the human genome's ability to evolve and adapt. Usually this kind of adaptation takes centuries or even millennia but after Whiner hit us with that DNA accelerator, it just makes sense that our advanced genetics would compensate."

Shane asked, "Did the child go full term? Does it display any attributes from either one of you?"

Dara and Shane started walking again. She said, "Yes he did go full term and he was born healthy. He weighed in at 7lbs 7ounces and was 19 inches long. As to any of either Ray's or my abilities, not yet but Ray and I are both keeping a very close eye on him."

"How old is he," Shane asked.

Dara answered, "He's four and as yet, he doesn't really favor Ray or me in his face. My son's name is Shane."

Goose couldn't resist the urge and said, "I'll bet Ray was _real _happy about that one. How did you ever get him to go along with that?"

Another voice came from behind the two; this one carried only a fraction of the Australian accent that once was so thick it made him hard to understand sometimes. "Actually Shane, it was my idea."

Goose spun around and almost drew his blasters out of instinct to face Ray. He was wearing a battered but serviceable pair of blue jeans, work boots and grease stained shirt. On his head he wore a regular wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off his head and neck and a conservative pair of sunglasses. He no longer wore the scarf that seemed like a trademark of sorts with him. Raising his hands in a gesture of nonaggression, he said, "Ease up mate. Fact o' the matter is, if I'd wanted to blast you, I'd of done it with your back turned."

Shane unconsciously growled, more at himself and his lack of awareness than at Ray, and took his hands away from his blasters. "You're right Ray, so why didn't you blast me? I know you've wanted to roast this 'runt' for as long as you've known me."

Ray lowered his hands, came over to Dara, gave her a hello kiss and then took her hand in his and stood next to her before speaking again. "There was a time when you'd a been right on the money with that, but times change and so do people. Ever since you kicked my sorry butt in a fair fight that last time we met, things have been different. I knew then that you wasn't no 'Runt' like Killbane and all us others was calling you all the time. When I woke up from that well-deserved thrashing you gave me, I was expecting to be in the brig on one of your Ranger Space Yachts on my way to Longshot to be put in stasis alongside the other Supers but then Dara told me that you let us go and it set me to thinkin', that maybe you'd been right all those years, that maybe doing a stand-up legitimate job weren't so bad a thing to do. I did a little soul searching as it were, even went on walkabout, just like my ancestors in Australia would've done. Took me over a year to find myself and when I did, hoo-boy, I didn't like what I saw. I came back to Darkstar and finally decided to listen to her for a change."

Shane said, "Speaking of change, other than being a father now, what has changed for you?"

Ray answered, "Fair question Shane. For starters, I changed my look a little. Started getting my hair trimmed regular like although it's still as shaggy as yours, changed me glasses into something a little less outrageous, got some real clothes instead of those duds I was into wearing before, got myself a real job and cleaned up my speech a little. Most important of all, I made it a point to learn to completely control my eyebeams. Actually, my beams help me in my work from time to time. I own a fixit' shop on the next street over from the Market now. Funny thing, all those years I thought anyone with a job was a weak-willed sucker just begging to be stolen from but once I started doing it myself, I found that the real tough guy is the one who wakes up day after day and does the same job day after day and you know, I actually _like_ working for a living, doing something with my hands and my head each day, going home to my wife and son every night, not looking over my shoulder all the time for bounty hunters or Galaxy Rangers like you. Speakin' of which, what brings you here today Shane?"

As Goose took a breath to answer, Dara cut him off and said, "Wait Ray. Let's go home where we can finish this conversation in private. We're beginning to draw attention to ourselves. Join us for dinner Shane? I've got enough here for the four of us, you, Ray, me and little Shane."

Goose had listened to all that Dara and Ray had said and listening to his own gut instinct, found that he believed everything that he'd been told to this point, so when Goose spoke, he said, "Okay Dara, I'll do that. Your place is three klicks east of town?"

When Ray and Dara both nodded, Goose continued, "Let me get Triton, speak with Sheriff Annie real quick and then I'll head to your place within the hour. Sound good?"

Dara said, "It does Goose. See you in an hour then."

Goose left Dara and Ray and walked back over to where he'd tied up Triton and mounted up to ride out of the Market. As he did, he saw Dara and Ray ride out on a hovercar. Taking his attention away from them, he activated his wrist-com and said, "Come in Elma. Status report please."

A second later, Elma's avatar came onscreen of Goose's wrist-com and said, "I read you Goose. All systems are on standby and everything is a-ok. There have been some local children looking at me off and on for the last hour but no one has attempted any tampering; any new orders at this time?"

Goose said, "None of the locals has ever seen a girl as pretty as you Elma that's why they keep staring. No further orders for now except to say that I'm going to be a little longer than I expected."

Elma's avatar made an effective simulation of blushing at Goose's praise and said, "My remote monitoring of your lifesigns says that you've recently been under stress. Is everything okay Goose?"

Goose said, "No problems Elma, I just got some small surprises in rapid succession is all. I'm pretty sure everything is on the level but tell you what, if your remote sensors indicate that I've activated my implant for any reason, I want you to blast off and rendezvous at my location with your weapons hot just in case. Understand?"

Elma answered, "Roger that Goose."

Goose said, "Good girl Elma. If everything goes as it looks like it will, I'll meet up with you later tonight after dark. Gooseman out."

After meeting up with Annie and giving her a courtesy update, Goose headed east and within the hour, just as he'd estimated, Goose arrived at the Lawson homestead and rode in under the slightly weathered, wooden archway that bore a brand burned into it that looked like a combination of their powers when used, a beam of light surrounded by smaller dots. After tying Triton to another hitching post, Goose whispered into Triton's audio sensor, "Keep all your sensors on passive for me buddy. Let me know the instant something breaks from status quo. I find myself _wanting_ to trust Dara and Ray, but all the same, I've had too many fights with Ray to completely trust him. Understand?"

Triton's voice was just as subdued as Goose's as he said, "I understand Goose. It will be as you say."

"Good boy Triton. See you a little later." Goose said before turning away to climb the short flight of steps to the front door and knocked.

Dara answered the door and welcomed him in. As she closed the door behind him she said, "Make yourself comfortable Shane. Ray is out back playing with little Shane at the moment."

Goose nodded his assent and as Dara walked back into the kitchen area, he looked around and couldn't help but muse to himself, '_I guess maybe Ray has changed and for the better. This is a homey little house he's gotten for Dara and their son.'_ Goose saw a chair for one next to a small end table with a reading lamp on it, across from there was a couch with room for three or so people, a nice-looking table with an example of decorative basketry made of local materials and a couple of books on it in front of the couch for visitors to look through. Goose was standing in the dining room with its adjoining kitchen. On the wall was a Com-unit and down a short hallway was a series of doors. Without looking, Goose figured that at least two of them were bedrooms, a third, possibly a guest room, a closet, the entry to the bathroom and a door in the very back of the hall that probably went out back. Throw rugs were scattered tastefully about and a small entertainment unit sat on a small table between the single chair and the couch on the far wall.

About that time, Ray came back in with his son riding on his shoulders laughing out loud together. As soon as Ray was in hearing range, Goose said, "Nice place you have here Ray. Good use of space without a lot of wastage."

Ray set little Shane down and then sank to one knee so as to be on eye level with his son and said to him, "Go wash up for dinner now son and then see if your mum needs any help."

In his still high-pitched voice, Little Shane said, "Okay dad."

Ray stood back up and said, "Thanks mate. I mean that too. I really am happy now. Though knowing as you do, our shared past, you might think that's not possible, but it is. Took us about five months or so to build this place from the ground up, nothing prefab, all of it milled lumber and hand built. We had the help of our neighbors to the north and south of us, and we were able to get the frame up and secure in about two or three days, the rest was going to be just Dara and me mounting boards and taking turns nailing 'em into the frame. But about half way through, is when Dara found out she was pregnant so right away I changed the floor plan to allow little Shane his own room as well as ours and a guest room besides. After she knew she was expecting, our neighbors came through and helped me finish the place up."

Goose had to know so he asked, "Why did you decide to name your boy after me? You and I were never friends back in the day when we were training so to find out that it was _your_ idea to name your son for me is a little hard to accept. You know what I mean?"

Ray said, "I reckon I do. Like I said back in the Market, when I woke up after that thrashing you gave me and when Dara told me that you let us go, it was that last fight between us that had finally gotten the message through my thick head that you were right. Right about me, right about the Supers in general, right about a lot of things. It sounds kind of cheesy but it's the Gods-honest truth, you inspired me to do better, to act better, and to _be_ better. A better person in general and a better man specifically. What better way to keep the lesson in my mind day after day than to name my son for you?"

Goose shook his head. "I see your point now Ray. Thanks."

Ray said, "No mate, it's me that should thank you. While it's true that even now, you and I will never be friends in the normal sense, I _do_ respect you and your strength, both physical and mental. Every day I put my boy to bed and can't help but to thank you for not giving up on me or Dara, even after all this time."

Just then, Dara called out, "Dinner's ready. Ray, Shane, go wash up."

A small voice complained, "But mom, I already washed up. Do I have to again?"

Ray and Goose shared a laugh as Dara said, "Not you Little Shane. I meant your dad and big Shane in the front room."

A little while later, at dinner, Little Shane looked to his namesake and said, "You're big, I mean like, huge, like one of those giants in a story before my bedtime. Did you know that you have the same name as me?"

Gooseman said between bites of roast bovo, side salad and fresh baked bread, "That's because I ate all my vegetables when I was your age. As to our same name, someday your folks will tell you why that is and you'll understand then. Till then, eat your salad kiddo, it's good for you." There was another communal chuckle from the adults at the table but Little Shane _did_ eat his salad without complaint.

Later on after a dessert using the Kiwi marshmallows that Dara had gotten at the Market earlier that day had been cleared from the table and little Shane put to bed, Goose sat in the single chair when offered while Dara and Ray sat together on the couch.

Gooseman said, "Earlier today, in the Market when I said I might take you back or I might not; this is why." Taking a small flip-top case out of a utility pouch on his belt, Goose held it up and said, "The discovery that Q-ball and Nagata made is a DNA Deactivator. This will deactivate your powers at the genetic level. That's all it'll do. So long as you take good care of yourselves like any other person, you'll keep your strength and speed but you'll age normally and just like everyone else you'll slow down a little."

Dara asked, "Does it really work as you say Goose? What about the other Supers? Have you taken it?"

Goose answered, "Q-Ball and Nagata are sure of their work out to five decimal places. Those few Supers that were caught when you all escaped originally were brought out of stasis and given the choice to act as the control group or go back into stasis. They all chose to try the Deactivator and as a group it was proven 100% safe and effective. To make sure it wasn't just random chance, each one was monitored for two years after treatment and all of them are still alive today and have normal lives. They still have the knowledge that they gained as a Super but are regular people with jobs. I haven't checked on them since, as that keeping the Queen of the Crown at bay as well as all the other things that Galaxy Rangers do is a full time job, but it's possible that they have families now too. As for myself, I considered taking it, I really did, but as a Galaxy Ranger, I need every edge I can get so I decided against the treatment. As to the rest of the Supers, the only one left besides you, Ray and me is Killbane."

Ray spoke this time and said, "How's that mate? What about the others? After Dara and I made our new start, we've never been contacted by any of the other Supers which is how we like it."

Goose sat back in the chair and put the case with the deactivators back in its utility pouch on his belt before speaking. "For all of his tactical and strategic intelligence, no one thought to tell Brainchild that those tobacco cigarettes he smoked were carcinogenic and addictive. Along with the other changes to his DNA as part of the Supertrooper program, at least in Brainchild's case, the tendency towards addiction was also enhanced. Sure, medical science can cure all manner of cancers and other diseases that used to kill people back in the twentieth century, but being on the run for so long, Brainchild was never able to stop in one place long enough to take the treatments that would've saved his life. He died last year in the medical ward at Longshot of severe lung cancer."

"Jackhammer was floating between mercenary groups as a sniper for a few years. Do you remember that as our team sniper, he always went for the headshot in _all_ of our training scenarios?" When Ray and Dara indicated that they did remember, Goose continued, "Even though he never let it show, the emotional toll of watching peoples' heads disappear finally caught up with him. The Galaxy Rangers had to confront him after he tried to commit suicide by attacking B.E.T.A. Mountain itself. Our psychologists had to search all their databases to find the name of his type of depression. They found that it was a type of Post Traumatic Stress that manifests itself in an act of what used to be called 'Suicide by Cop'. It's where a person intentionally puts themselves into a situation where law enforcement is confronted and the only way to stop them is to kill them. It was kind of common in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Anyway, Jackhammer tried to get the Rangers to kill him but instead we detained him and offered him all the therapy he could want in exchange for taking the Deactivator treatment. He took us up on the offer and after his treatment was done, he found religion and became a 'man of the cloth in order to find forgiveness for all the evil he had committed.' Those were his words exactly. Last anyone had heard he was heading up a spiritual mission to the Empty Zone somewhere."

"As for Bravestone, he, one of my partners, Walter "Doc" Hartford and I caught up with each other when B.E.T.A. was testing a new type of weapon system. Called a 'mecha' by the R&D division, it was a type of battlesuit that would have enhanced the operator's strength, speed, agility and firepower by tenfold. Given that Bravestone's abilities were already enhanced physical strength and conscious control of his external bio-defenses, that 'mecha' could have made him damn near unstoppable. In fact, it was his external bio-defenses that had practically merged him with the battlesuit. There wouldn't have been any way to separate the two, so one of Doc's A.I. programs, he calls them 'tweekers' got into the computer that controlled the 'mecha' and flew it into the Sun. Bravestone could handle just about any physical attack but not even his bio-defenses could hold off the power of the Sun."

Goose finished with, "And then there was Shimera. She'd started to lose all touch with reality by the time one of my other partners, Niko, caught up to her on Tortuna. Somewhere along the way, Shimera had begun to think that she was all powerful and she thought she could defeat Niko in a battle of PSI. I only heard about it later. Niko was able to tap into her deepest reservoir of mental power; when that happened, she and Shimera demolished an entire corner of Tortuna City with the backlash of their PSI battle but in the end, Niko won. Essentially what happened is that Niko had to shred Shimera's mind in order to get her to stop. Basically, Shimera had been mind-wiped, only her autonomic systems remained functional but eventually, the choice was made at the highest level of B.E.T.A. leadership to turn off the life support and let her body die."

"Which brings me to the present with you both here and now; regardless of what happens, I _have_ to make a full and honest report to Walsh or I'm done with the Rangers. I can see for myself that you have both changed for the better but the fact of the matter is that you're both still considered 'at large' as Supertroopers. The Deactivator will do just that but since you say you can control your eyebeams fully now Ray, and that sometimes they help you earn an honest living, I'm hesitant to ask you to use the Deactivator. As I recall Dara, you were just as quick with a stun blaster as your PSI, but all the same, I'm satisfied that you won't use your power unless you have to. The question now is, what will you both do? I didn't know about your son until I got here. I'm sure Dr. Nagata will want to come out here to Frontier and interview him, if you allow it and the both of you as well, but since Little Shane hasn't manifested any Supertrooper-esque abilities, I for one wouldn't want him to take the Deactivator. Maybe when he hits puberty, something will come up, but until then, only Nagata can speculate on his abilities, dormant or otherwise."

Ray and Dara looked to each other before answering, "Can you let us sleep on it mate?" asked Ray.

Goose said, "I can do that, yea. I'll go back to town and get a room at the Inn. I'll come back out here tomorrow to hear your decision."

Putting action to words, Goose got up out of the chair and went to the door. "Thanks for a great dinner Dara. Until tomorrow then." And walked out. After getting back onto Triton and starting the three klick ride back to town, Goose said, "Well Triton, anything come up on your passive sensors while I was in talking with Ray and Dara?"

Triton answered, "No Goose; just the usual nocturnal creatures starting their respective cycles."

As Goose activated his wrist-com again he said, "That's good to hear Triton." Turning his attention to his wrist-com he said, "Elma, change in plans. I'll be staying in town tonight. We'll be leaving tomorrow for sure though; any messages from B.E.T.A. for me?"

Elma's voice said, "No Goose; no messages from B.E.T.A. but there is one from the Sheriff. Attached to it are the coordinates to her domicile and only three words, 'Come see me.'"

Goose said, "Alright Elma thanks. Send the coordinates to me on my wrist-com and then go ahead and shut down for the night. See you tomorrow."

Elma's eyeball avatar said, "Orders acknowledged Goose, goodnight." With that, Goose's wrist-com deactivated.

Goose found Annie's house without difficulty. The lights were still on, so after tying Triton to the post, he stepped up to the door and knocked. Annie answered the door wearing a dress Goose had never seen her wear before, with her long brown tresses down in their naturally straight lines. His enhanced sense of smell caught the scent of summer lilac on her hair and a matching scent from the skin on her arms and neck. This time when she moved towards him, he _was_ caught by surprise as she pulled him in the door by the arm and closed it by pressing his body against it as she kissed him full on the mouth with a strength he'd never known her to possess. After the kiss ended, Goose was barely able to say, "I thought you hated me Annie?"

All she said was, "I lied Shane. I was genuinely surprised to see you walk into my office today and eight years of pain came out before I could stop it. I think even _you_ can figure out what I want right now Shane, but I have to ask, is there anyone else for you right now?"

Goose held Annie in his arms and said, "To be honest, yes and no Annie. Yes I love someone, but no, we're not together right now and I don't know if we'll ever be. Things between her and I would be too complicated right now. She knows how I feel for her and she feels the same, but she too knows that it would make more trouble than it's worth to either of us."

Annie put her head on his shoulder and said, "It's that other Ranger, Niko, isn't it?"

Goose simply said, "Yes."

Annie said, "That's fair and I can respect that, but she's not here . . . you and I are. I'll be Niko for tonight if you want me to Shane. Just let me have tonight with you."

Shane took Annie's chin in his hand and tipped her face up to meet his eyes. There were tears but Shane kissed them away and then kissed Annie on the mouth before speaking, "I don't want you to be Niko for me Annie. I want _you_ to be you, no more, no less."

No more words were spoken for the rest of the night.

**The next day**

Goose rode out to Ray and Dara's place, tied Triton to the post from the night before and knocked. Ray answered the door this time and stood aside to let Goose enter. He joined Dara at the table but there was no sign of Little Shane anywhere.

Seeing him look around, Dara said, "Little Shane is with some friends today. Ray and I talked it over last night just like we said we would and came to a decision."

Ray spoke this time, "I'll take the Deactivator, but Dara won't. While it's true that Sheriff Annie took down the Black Hole Gang all by herself and that fact alone has given her reputation enough to keep other serious gangs away from the town, once in awhile we get some space-going merchants coming through or some military types from other members of the League and occasionally some non-aligned ones as well. In times past, they've made a general nuisance of themselves and even tried to make a pass at Dara or some of the other local women. It's about that time when Dara can make 'em black out temporarily and that usually keeps 'em away."

Goose asked, "What about your shop? You said that you can use your eyebeams for repair jobs from time to time."

Ray answered, "True enough but I've learned a variety of regular welding and cutting techniques that are just as effective. Sure, they take a little longer but that's alright by me. I _want_ to do this. For Dara and Little Shane both."

Goose said nothing and took the case out of its pouch on his belt again and opened it. Inside were two gently glowing blue pills. Ray reached for one and swallowed it on the spot. By the time Goose had closed the case and replaced it on his belt, Ray shivered for a moment or two and then took his glasses off. His eyes flashed once, twice, three times and then the glow faded from them. Dara looked her husband in the eyes and said to him, "You have beautiful eyes Ray. How do you feel?"

Ray smiled and said, "I feel just fine and you know I never really noticed the weight across my nose and face from my glasses because the lenses were so thick to prevent any accidents. Now that they're gone, I can say that I won't miss the weight at all." Turning to face Goose, he extended a hand and said, "Thanks mate. If you're ever in this sector of space again and need repairs, I'm your man."

Goose took the proffered hand, pumped it firmly and said, "Thanks Ray. Hopefully I won't ever need to take you up on that, but if I do, I'll be sure to look you up." Accepting a hug and a peck on his cheek from Dara, Goose left their house, mounted Triton and rode back for town and the Spaceport. It had been left unspoken between Goose and Annie that they wouldn't see each other again as they had the night before so within the hour, he and Elma were off world and made the jump into hyperspace where Goose composed his report and sent it ahead for Commander Walsh and Dr. Nagata both to review.

**B.E.T.A. Mountain, Earth, one day later**

No sooner had Goose landed and turned his ship over to the technicians for servicing when he got a call to report to Walsh's office on the double. By Earth standards it was quite early but Goose wasn't surprised in the slightest to know that Walsh was already in his office. Knocking on the door and entering when told to do so; Goose closed the door behind him, stepped up to Walsh's desk, came to attention and saluted but kept his eyes at a point slightly above and behind Walsh's head. "Galaxy Ranger Sergeant Shane Gooseman reporting as ordered Commander Walsh."

Walsh returned the salute and then, elbows on his desk, he folded his hands and put his chin against them. "Stand easy. I've just finished going over your report from Frontier, Sergeant. Give me your unvarnished opinion, that's an order."

Doing as he was told, Goose said, "Sir, my opinion is that Ray and Dara Lawson, once known as the Supertroopers, Stingray and Darkstar are no longer a viable threat and should be left in peace to live the lives they've built for themselves and their son Shane Lawson. Ray took the Deactivator but Dara did not. They were both quite adamant about how her PSI ability has weakened since the birth of their son and that she only uses it in self-defense now. With my own eyes I saw Dara purchase items from a local vendor in cash money earned by her husband Ray who wore all the evidence of having just worked a full day of honest labor. My enhanced sense of smell could pick out the scents of sweat, oil, grease and dirt quite clearly. After he took the Deactivator, it was a matter of only a minute or two before I saw his eyes stop glowing and fade to what could only be considered as 'normal' by any standard you care to apply."

Walsh was silent a moment. "You're certain of what you saw? What you felt at that time? Gut instincts can be very important in our line of work Sergeant Gooseman but even gut instincts must take secondary importance from time to time."

Goose looked Walsh in the eye. "I freely admit to having had a lapse in judgment once before with regards to my fellow former Supertroopers but I learned my lesson and have held nothing back this time in regards to the people formerly known as Darkstar and Stingray. The only thing, I repeat the _only_ thing I have held back in my report is a matter of a deeply personal concern, but did not affect my judgment in the slightest. If my report doesn't meet with your approval Commander, you can have my badge, my blasters and my contempt."

Walsh's face remained neutral. "Even though what you just said is dangerously close to insubordination, I'll overlook it and tell you that your resignation will _not_ be necessary. I'm satisfied that you have indeed learned your lesson. Good work Shane. You're dismissed."

Going back to attention, Goose saluted. "Aye sir," spun on his heel and left.

A few minutes later, Goose found an unused lounge for use by newly off-duty personnel, closed the door behind him and collapsed onto a couch. He'd never let it show openly, but he'd been rattled in his meeting with Walsh. As the adrenaline cleared his system, he looked at his hands and willed them to stop shaking. When they did he said to himself, _'Sweet mother of all time and space! I can't believe what I said to the Old Man just now. What if he'd asked for that resignation? I don't know anything else but how to be a Galaxy Ranger. I really need someone to talk to right now but Doc is off on Tarkon at the League of Planets Embassy and I've no idea where Zachary is right now. I wonder if Niko is up and about?'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

**Two Years Earlier, Tortuna City, Planet Tortuna**

Lieutenant Niko rode into Tortuna City on her trusty Voyager dressed as a Zanguil. Since so very little was known of the Zanguil, the disguise always worked but internally, Niko was heartily sick of having to hide who she really was every time she came to what Shane once called the "Armpit of the Empty Zone". She looked forward to the time when the Rangers could move into the city in force and purge it of all Crown Agents. Behind her face obscuring mask she smiled to herself when she thought of Goose. She'd been love-struck with him ever since they'd first met at the Ranger Academy.

She'd never known anyone quite like him. Through her mind's PSI-eye, she saw him as something of a volcano. Ready to explode with little to no warning, yet still possessing a calm heart. He could literally be standing in a crowd and still be alone. At first she'd thought it because he was a Supertrooper, the genetic super-soldiers that a younger and then-Captain Walsh and Dr. Nagata tried to create in a preparatory response to what was still considered "unknown threats to be determined" that may or may not have been waiting for the opportunity to attack Earth, but later she came to understand it was just how he was, or more specifically, thought of himself as, an outsider, always looking in; wanting so very badly to be taken into the group but afraid to admit it to anyone, especially himself, that even he, Shane Gooseman, needed help sometimes.

At first, she considered taking up with him after they'd both graduated the Academy, but then they'd both been selected for the new, at the time, Series 5 Implant. After that and after being put on the same team together Niko knew that they couldn't be together because of the inappropriate nature that such a relationship would represent. She knew too, that at such time as they were given their own teams of Rangers to lead, then and only then could they be together. By being in separate chains of command, there would be no appearance of impropriety.

Niko's side trip down memory lane ended when she eventually came to her destination. Her informant, hell, almost everyone's informant, if they could pay, Geezy the Pedulant. Geezy was a strange one. Niko had never been able to figure out how someone who on the surface seemed so incompetent could possibly come up with the depth of information that he did as often as he did. After tying Voyager to the hitching post, she opened the door and stepped through into the slightly darker and cooler environment. Niko let the door close behind her and expanded her 'sphere of responsibility' as she called it, and found that Geezy was by himself in the back. Pulling her sphere back into herself, she could hear him honking to himself in some mangling or other of a piece of music.

His slightly high pitched, eternally nasal voice sounded from the back. "Just a moment, I'll be right with you." A moment later, he emerged from the back storeroom and dusted himself off with a swift brush of his clawed hands across the front of the apron he wore. "Eeep! Zanguil? W-what can I do for you my fellow sentient?"

Niko stood there a moment to give Geezy the wrong impression before speaking. "What do you know Geezy? I here tell you've got the latest and greatest information."

Geezy honked to himself unconsciously. "Indeed I do, no better broker of information will you find in all of Tortuna City. Your voice though sounds very familiar friend Zanguil. No matter though, you have the money, I have all the information you could want about practically anything."

Niko took off her hat, pulled down her face mask and shook out her long red hair. Geezy's reaction was almost comical in that it never changed.

"Ahhhgggg! A Humming? You silly Humming! Put your hat back on now before a crown sky-spy sees you!"

With speed that belied Geezy's obvious bulk, he ran over to the storefront and closed the blinds so that casual passers-by couldn't see in.

"That's HU-man Geezy. Not that I expect you to change after so many years of interactions with us." Niko said.

Anxiety was audible in his voice as it reached a slightly higher pitch than before. "Whatever Humming. Yes, I've been talking to you crazy Galaxy Ranger Hummings for longer that I would've ever liked. One of these days, I'll get it through my stubborn snout that it's more trouble than its worth to keep dealing with you."

Niko shook her head. "Oh please; don't delude yourself Geezy. Your greed will always win out over your sense of self-preservation. You know it, I know it and more importantly, _you_ know that I know. You can't deny that our relations have been lucrative for you Geezy; very lucrative."

Honking to himself again Geezy had to agree. "Yes it has been lucrative, still though, someday, I'll work up the courage to tell you Ranger Hummings no. What do you want this time?"

Niko took a small bag that was heavy with coin, out of a hidden pocket in her sleeve and jingled it in front of Geezy's eyes. She saw the greed glint in them when Geezy tried to snatch it from her hand. Niko snapped it away from him as if he'd moved in slow motion. "Tut-tut Geezy. Information first, then payment; you know that."

Geezy gave a dejected sounding honk and hung his head a moment before looking Niko in the eye and speaking. "Tell me what you want to know and then get you gone from my place of business Ranger Humming. Every second you stand in my shop is a second closer to my winding up a psychocrystal in the Queen's psychocrypt."

Niko spoke. "I'm looking for a very specific human woman Geezy, and before you give the same old excuse of 'all Hummings look the same to me' even you could recognize this one. She has blue hair and a mark across her face that looks like a bolt of lightning. She's about my height and slender, also, she talks to herself quite a lot and acts as if she's the Queen of the Crown. She goes by the name Shimera."

Making a sound like a cross between a honk and hum, Geezy shook his head. There is a Humming that fits that description over in the northeast corner of Tortuna City. All the residents there were chased out by her after she dissolved a patrol of Crown Agents that tried to arrest her for transport to the psychocrypt just by looking at them. Right after that, one of the local crime bosses tried to chase her out. When I first heard about it I didn't want to believe it, so I hacked into the sky-spy database and saw the video feed. There were five of them to start. She caused one to explode very messily, another to dissolve very slowly, his screams still echo in my ears, and two of them to turn on and kill the other. The last one she did something to him and he was little better than a Humming sized dog. He followed her around until she got bored with him and then caused him to play in the street until something hit and killed him. Since that time, no one and I mean _NO_ one goes anywhere near that corner of the city, not even Crown Agents."

Tossing the bag of coins to Geezy, Niko tucked her hair back into the collar of her clothes, put her face mask back in place and put her hat back on. "Thanks Geezy; pleasure doing business with you . . . as always." After walking out, she untied Voyager, got back into the saddle and directed him towards the northeast corner of town.

Voyager shook his head. "My sensors tell me you're worried Niko. What's the matter?"

Before answering, Niko pulled her hat a little lower over her eyes when she caught the motion of a sky-spy out of the corner of one eye. "I _am_ worried Voyager. While Geezy is greedy, he's also very observant; he doesn't give false leads. Shimera's powers seem to have either expanded or become unstable, maybe both and that's what worries me."

Voyager answered, "Why should it Niko? After the last round of nanotech upgrades, your implant, after a base charge back at B.E.T.A. is good for over fifty full power applications and three times as many applications for surface impressions."

Niko answered. "You're right Voyager but something Shane once told me comes to mind and seems to fit this situation exactly, 'In an age of scientific wonders, the human body is still the world's most dangerous machine'; and while my own powers have been gaining in strength little by little ever since I helped The Circle defeat the Megamind, and sometimes I feel as though I'm on the cusp of some tremendous breakthrough regarding my psychic abilities, I'm still not sure if I shouldn't call for back-up from either B.E.T.A., or even The Circle of Thought itself. Ariel's strength would be a great asset right about now."

Voyager nickered. "You might be right Niko, but wouldn't that put more innocent lives at stake while we waited for this back-up to arrive?"

Niko couldn't stop the sigh that escaped her as she said, "Right again Voyager. Stop here please. I can sense a barrier in place. I have to go on alone from here old friend."

Voyager stopped and Niko dismounted. Taking her gun belt off, she hung it off of Voyager's saddle horn. Niko knew that guns would be next to useless in the coming confrontation. Walking up to the edge of the barrier, Niko passed her hands over it and a portal opened up in it just big enough for her to walk through without ducking.

After entering the zone enclosed by the PSI barrier, Niko could sense the general direction where Shimera could be found. As she walked, she knew that nothing would interrupt what was about to unfold, so she discarded her Zanguil disguise as she walked towards the epicenter of the waves of PSI energy that surrounded Shimera and soon was in her regular Ranger uniform with her badge on her belt at her waist as the only piece of equipment. As she walked on, she heard laughter echo between the buildings while in her mind she heard, "_Well, well. Ranger Niko. Can't say that I'm surprised you showed up. With the exception of that runt Gooseman, you're the only one who could possibly constitute a threat to me. A threat I plan on ending."_

Niko looked around and focused on the direction that the words had come from and sent out, _"We don't have to do this you and I Shimera. Longshot is testing a new DNA Deactivator on the captured Supertroopers there, with their full consent and knowledge, I might add. So far, it looks very promising. You can live a normal life with the Deactivator, you won't have to look over your shoulder anymore . . . be just a regular woman."_

The scorn and disgust in Shimera's response was almost palpable. _"Why in seven hells would I want to be a 'normal' woman? I am becoming so much more than Walsh or that half-senile Nagata ever dreamed possible of the Supers. I am becoming a goddess among men and soon, very soon, I will become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will become Death, the Destroyer of worlds. Not even the Queen of the Crown will be able to stop me . . . or you either, little Niko. Bow to me little Niko; take your place at my feet and perhaps I may even teach you how to unlock all your potential. Potential enough that you would never need that filthy implant in your brain again."_

Without the slightest hesitation Niko had an answer to Shimera's offer. _"My good friend Doc Hartford showed me this old Earth movie where such an offer was made to the protagonist. Something about going over to a dark side; my answer is the same as that protagonist's answer. Never! I'll never turn to the dark side."_

The whole time Niko had been mentally conversing with Shimera, she'd also been homing in on the source of Shimera's thought waves. When she found her, Shimera was floating above the ground, encapsulated by a reddish-orange nimbus of mental energies, her hands palm up at about waist level and her hair waving in the non-existent breeze created by the energy flowing from her. Shimera's clothing was so tattered and torn it was as if she wore nothing on her lithe frame but an expression on her face somewhere between contentment and stark, raving insanity. As Niko came into full view, Shimera said out loud, "And here I thought it was such a generous offer little Niko. Oh well; I'll simply kill you now and be done with it."

Niko tapped her badge and projected a defensive screen just as a telekinetic strike slammed into her. Even with a fresh shield, Niko was set back a step. _'Great Maker what strength!'_ She thought to herself.

Moving a few steps closer, another strike slammed into her. Knowing it was coming, Niko made a sharp angle of her shield and the energy of Shimera's strike broke in two across the leading edge to strike two different buildings. Instead of trying to take Shimera in a frontal attack, Niko sent s series of small strikes at Shimera in an attempt to distract her. Like her martial arts teachers used to say to her, '_In a contest of strength versus strength, counter with gentleness. Through gentleness, strength will prevail.'_

Visualizing a flurry of punches all over Shimera's torso, Niko struck low and high like a fighting combination, two hits low, one high, one middle and another one low. Shimera was able to deflect the PSI strikes but was too focused on them to notice that Niko had closed to within physical distance and caught Shimera with a leg sweep arm shove combination that sent her to the ground.

Shimera landed hard on her side but rolled over and got to her feet quickly. Making a gesture as if to counter attack Niko, she thrust out her hand in a heel-palm strike and with the added focus of the physical to augment the mental, Niko's shield was overwhelmed and she was sent flying back by several feet with a low scream issuing from her. Niko landed on her back and slid a little across the ground. She felt the back of her uniform tear a little and the skin underneath it as well and felt a trickle of blood down her back. Getting to her feet, Niko tapped her badge again to make another shield for herself only this one was tighter, more focused.

"I don't want to fight you Shimera. If this continues, it's almost a certainty that one of us will die." Niko said.

"But little Niko, I _want_ to fight you; and yes, one of us will die." Shimera taunted.

Shimera began to float again as her output seemed to increase. Niko tapped her badge once more and focused her intent. Only peripherally, was she aware that her own feet had left the ground by an inch or two. Between the two PSI fighters, their respective energy fields began to interact, resonate and expand. Neither one was aware that the nearest buildings began to tremble, their windows to break or their foundations starting to crumble.

If one were able to see the energies being sent, it would appear as waves of energy, some blade-like, others the shape of whips. Niko felt one sleeve of her uniform tear completely off and the other to part to her elbow. Both women were covered in welts and bruises as they threw telekinetic attacks at one another. Still more energies were expended. Buildings all around had been or were in the process of being rendered into rubble as the PSI battle continued.

Niko and Shimera were practically flying in low circles; attacking or defending as openings in each other's defenses came and went. At one intersection of movement, Niko caught Shimera with a powerful right cross, Shimera answered with a flying kick to Niko's belly from three feet out that sent Niko across a street to crash into and through a section of drywall that had until now, escaped destruction. Niko lay on her back, weary to the very marrow of her bones.

Shimera laughed out loud and floated to a point over Niko's exhausted body where she could look down on her. Blood flowed freely from a dozen or more small wounds all over her body. Shimera's own exhaustion could be heard in her voice. "Well played little Niko, but in the end, there is only me. What Gooseman sees in you must be one of the great mysteries of the universe. It is of no matter. Now Niko, you will die!"

Niko silently prepared herself for oblivion. "_I don't know how to beat her! But if I drain my implant in one burst, maybe, just maybe, I can take her down. Forgive me Shane, I should have told you how I felt for you . . . goodbye my love."_

From the back of Niko's mind, she felt some internal barrier opening, and within this portal in her mind, she sensed something as far beyond human ken as the single cell amoeba is from the collection of cells that constitute a sentient being. She heard a soothing voice that was somehow both familiar and alien say to her, "_We are the Unity._ _You need not sacrifice yourself Niko. We have watched over you since the moment of your very conception. We will help you this one time, though it goes contrary to the very rules of the cosmos itself for you are too important to let die. Lend us your power. Let us act through you . . ."_

As tired as Niko was, she had enough energy to say, "_What are you?"_

The answer that was given was not one of words. Niko felt her consciousness withdraw into herself and form a compact, tightly focused form, clinging to her inner eye. She lost the ability to move yet she was still able to see through her eyes. The entire process took but a heartbeat in objective time. Shimera finished taunting Niko and focused her waning energy for one last blast that would see the insect that was Niko, in Shimera's eyes, to discorporate into her constituent particles.

Suddenly, Shimera was thrown back like a wadded up ball of paper. Barely getting to her feet, she stared in disbelief as Niko took to the air, hands outstretched, and her gaze staring into space, exuding a bright blue nimbus of energy from her entire body. Niko tipped her head down and opened eyes of brightly shining green. Rivulets of blood ran down her face in place of tears as so much power became manifest. Niko's voice came to Shimera in a bizarre reverberant echo, both mental and physical. "You have misused and abused your power Shimera. We have come because you need us, you must learn a new way Shimera, a better way, and we are here to return you to the cosmos that created you . . ."

Before Walsh and Nagata had found her, before her DNA had been rearranged as part of the Supertrooper program, Shimera used to build sandcastles as a little girl on the beaches near the orphanage where she lived. They would collapse as the tide came in; so too did Shimera feel all of her shields collapse. She felt her mind tremble, then crack then nothing more as the power that was the Unity acting through Niko essentially ran an old fashioned lawnmower through Shimera's mind and destroy everything but her autonomous nervous system.

Shimera screamed incoherently and then fell to her knees as drool, mucus and tears ran freely from her mouth, nose and eyes before falling face-first to the ground, arms down at her sides, head turned to one side.

Niko descended from on high to land on her feet with the grace of a cat. Her badge flashed once, twice, three times and then faded to its normal golden tone as her implant's charge was exhausted; just as the bright green glow of her eyes returned to normal as well. Niko awoke as if from a long nap, but still feeling tired to the bone, more weary than even after her final testing before the Circle of Thought before leaving for Earth and Ranger Academy.

Moments later, a bright blue ball of energy appeared behind Niko and an older but still spry Ariel emerged. Ariel was practically shaking with rage as she took in the scene of destruction, buildings flattened in a radius of over a hundred feet across, other buildings just beyond that with great cracks and holes throughout their structures. She saw her best and favorite student standing over the near naked body of an insensate woman that she'd never seen before.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NIKO?" Ariel yelled shrilly.

Niko turned around. "I-I don't know Ariel. I can't seem to remember a thing yet somehow I know that I did this to Shimera . . ."

Ariel was speechless a moment then tears began to leak from her eyes and there was a hitch in her voice. "Y-y-you have broken that which could not _be_ broken Niko! You have violated the most sacred tenant of the Circle of Thought! No matter the wickedness of the being, you are to never, never, _never_ destroy their mind. The mind is sacrosanct; respected above all other things. There is only one penalty for what you have done here this day Niko . . ."

Niko shook her head emphatically. "You don't understand Ariel! Shimera was playing with powers she couldn't possibly comprehend or fully control! I may not remember how I did it, but what I _am_ certain of, is that it had to be done. She's already killed at least five innocent people, most certainly many more that we'll never know about. She said she would become a goddess among men, embody death and be a destroyer of worlds!"

Ariel controlled her ever-mounting grief. "No Niko, it is _you_ who does not understand. I had thought you would replace me in the Circle one day, now I see that will not be so. You are cast out Niko. Cast out of the Circle of Thought, never to return to its welcoming warmth and light . . . never to return to Xanadu. You were always my greatest pupil, my favorite one Niko. Had I ever born a daughter, I thought she would be like you. Now from my greatest student, you have become my greatest disappointment. Goodbye Niko . . . may we never encounter each other again."

**Earth, Present Day**

Niko sat bolt upright in her bed, in her private quarters at B.E.T.A. Mountain, reaching into space and screaming. "Noooooooo . . ."

Catching her breath, Niko threw aside the coverlet and put her bare feet on the floor. Her nightgown was soaked in sweat and her pulse felt ready to make its own jump into hyperspace. Placing her elbows on her knees and cradling her face in her hands, she remembered the sequence of events that led to her banishment from the Circle. She remembered too the events after that. She'd found some clothes in the rubble of one of the nearby houses and put them on Shimera. With the collapse of the PSI barrier that Shimera had made, Voyager was able to meet up with Niko. Retrieving her Zanguil disguise, Niko secured Shimera to Voyager's saddle then mounted Voyager and held Shimera from behind and took her back to her ship in the desert outside of Tortuna City.

From there, Shimera was taken back to Longshot where Q-ball pronounced her all but brain dead. Shimera's autonomic nervous system continued to function, but her mind was essentially a blank slate, a hard drive ready to be formatted.

Niko continued remembering. After filing her after-action report, Niko was placed on leave to recover from her ordeal. A few days after that, Gooseman returned from a mission with Zachary and Doc. Shane caught up with her on the balcony attached to her private quarters where Niko told him everything when prompted to do so. She remembered what he'd said then.

"_Don't worry babe. B.E.T.A. won't punish you for your actions, I'm sure of it. You say you only remember bits and pieces of the 'Unity' as you call it? I'm not surprised that you made contact somehow. Remember that time you helped save me at the super-collider on Texton? When it comes down to it, I guess you shouldn't be too surprised either. You have abilities that few others have, let alone can use."_

_Shane's understanding and nonjudgmental attitude was too much for her as she threw herself in his arms crying a little and then kissing him full and unrestrained on the mouth. Goose tried to break away as he gasped, "Niko, we can't do this. We agreed that no matter how we felt for each other, we wouldn't cross this line until we were free to do so."_

_Niko said, "I don't care! I need you! I've lost almost everything that mattered to me and right now, I don't give a damn about rules or regulations! I just want to forget about the universe for a time and be a woman in love. Stay with me tonight . . . make love to me and help me to remember what it is to feel again . . . please."_

_Niko remembered how everything played out that night. He'd been so gentle, so caring, so in the moment with her that when a temporary mental bond formed between them, it only intensified the experience for them both._

_Later, in the afterglow Niko turned on her side to face him. "Thank you so much Shane. You were exactly what I needed and everything I'd hoped it would be for us. I love you and I know you love me just as much."_

_Shane held her close, kissed her gently and said, "Sleep now dearest to my heart. We'll face tomorrow when tomorrow comes. For now, there is only this moment for you and me."_

_Sleep they did, soundly, in each other's arms, until the late morning light shined upon them both where they lay in Niko's bed. After they both got dressed, they sat together in the sun that shone on her dining room table and had a light breakfast._

_Shane spoke first. "What now Niko? I'm not about to quote regulations but we both know that this can't change the understanding between us."_

_Niko said, "I don't know if we'll ever be able to explain fully what passed between us last night but what I do understand is that we can't be together again until we're both leading our own teams of Rangers. That way there will be no conflict within the rules. Until that day, we can have our memories, and a very deep friendship. Do you understand Shane?"_

_Goose nodded. "Yea I do understand Niko and I agree fully. There can be no promise between us until that day babe."_

Niko's reminiscence ended and she got up, made some tea for herself in the kitchen, grabbed her computer and looked up her schedule for the upcoming day. She and Shane had kept to their understanding, never again crossing the line that was crossed that one time. Niko had never taken another lover after that night either; just remembering him was enough for her. Just fantasizing was all she needed. She knew that Shane would probably have other encounters, other lovers, but it didn't bother her in the slightest as that like Shane had said on the morning after, there could be no promise between them until the day came when they had their own teams. Besides, she knew there was a kind of animal magnetism that Shane gave off without meaning to, probably an unexpected side affect of his Supertrooper DNA.

Looking at the clock on her wall, she saw it was still a few hours till sunrise and she felt no desire to try and go back to sleep so she took a shower, got into uniform and decided to go to the firing range for a while. To herself she said, _'I wonder if Shane is up and about?'_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5**

**The Planet Tarkon**

Walter "Doc" Hartford was in the control chamber for the ancient supercomputer the "Heart of Tarkon" feeling like he would get further in the analysis of the ancient systems by beating his head against the nearest control panel for all the good his personal A.I.'s, or "tweekers" he called them, were doing. Searchlight exited the panel he'd entered only a half hour before weaving and dipping. His high pitched voice said, "Wow, that was a rush Doc . . . I think I need to return to the CDU to recharge, I can barely move."

Doc hung his head in defeat, "Alright Searchlight, rest now buddy. You got a little further today?"

As Searchlight went back into Doc's computer diagnostics unit, or CDU, he said, "Only a little. I'm sorry Doc. Tripwire was able to distract the seeker programs a little better now. He's learning, we all are but this computer is _so_ unlike any other system we've ever tried to interface with."

A moment later, Tripwire's similarly high pitched voice called out, "Incoming! Incoming! I think the seeker units are pissed at me!"

Doc held up the CDU and caught Tripwire as he flew out of the panel that Searchlight had exited a moment before. "You watch your language Tripwire! I swear, if I find the guy who taught you to speak like that, I'll personally reprogram his Interceptor and he'll never come out of hyperspace." More of exasperation than genuine anger, Doc pointed at the panel, and shook his head. "One of these days, I'm _going_ to find the right combination and kick your bytes in the collective teeth and get you to talk to me! When I do, the Doctor will operate and learn all your little secrets!"

A moment later, the avatar of the Shaman appeared, still wearing the coarse tan robes he wore on the day that he'd given up his corporeal life in order to activate the defensive stations scattered all over the Tarkon solar system's moons. "Good Doc Hartford, why dost thou try so hard to plumb the secrets of this great and wondrous machine? Is it not enough to know that when something threatens the people of Tarkon, this great construct and I will be there to protect all?"

Doc had long since stopped trying to jump out of his skin whenever the Shaman appeared. "That's what I do Shaman. I'm a Doctor of the cyber-world. What if you fade away as the last caretaker did? How would the Heart be able to activate the defenses like it did when the Queen of the Crown tried to attack?"

The Shaman chuckled. "As ever good Hartford, thou speak great sense. To answer thy question, the Heart and I have acted on thy idea that thou put forth. We, the Heart and I, have compiled a list of the top 5 people who can take my place should it happen. It might please thee to know that Maya and thou are on that list. We understand the great respect thee holds all living things in. Now that the Heart is fully active again after so many millennia of dormancy, its consciousness has wandered far and wide, absorbed every bit of knowledge that it has found. Books, scrolls, family genealogies, even family recipes and is even now, what are the words you use for sifting knowledge?"

Doc answered. "Sorting, collating and filing."

The Shaman continued. "Yes, thank you good Hartford; sorting, collating and filing all that knowledge in order to better safeguard it against catastrophic loss and to understand how the people of Tarkon have grown since the last caretaker. It is an immense task, even for something as great as the Heart of Tarkon. It will take some time, years yet before this task is complete, but I will be here to assist it any way I can. Your repeated attempts to gain access to its innermost systems are distracting and truth to tell, the Heart is growing annoyed with you. If and when the Heart decides thee are ready to learn what it has to teach, thee will be summoned, have no fear good Hartford."

Doc gestured with both hands in frustration. "I don't know what else to do with my time! I'm going crazy here! As Maya's father's condition has deteriorated and he's turned more and more of his responsibilities over to her, she's so busy that weeks can go by between our conversations. I'm glad that she has allowed an Embassy for the League of Planets to be built here on Tarkon, so long as we keep our technology out of sight and out of mind of the general populace, but I'm no diplomat!"

The image of the Shaman gestured and a virtual chair appeared that he sat in. "Please tell me why thou think this is so, good Hartford."

Doc leaned against the console he'd been working at, folded his arms over his chest and began speaking. "That's part of it right there Shaman! I'm just a Galaxy Ranger who's good with computers. You're so formal with me it just grates on my nerves! I'm nothing special, just a man with a talent and gifted with machines. I've always been better with computers than people. I don't consider myself a 'good' man in the sense that you put me, as if I'm better than anyone else. Please just call me Walter or Doc or even Ranger Hartford if you must be formal. Stop this 'good Hartford this, good Hartford that'!"

The Shaman nodded. "As you wish Doc; I sincerely apologize for hurting your feelings as I so clearly have, but the fact that you are able to say these things of yourself only goes to show that you are indeed a _good_ man. A good and humble man, even if you can't see it."

Doc took a deep breath. "Thank you Shaman, I _do_ appreciate it. It's just that I don't know what B.E.T.A. expects of me here other than trying to understand the Heart, if I can. Why a _real_ diplomat wasn't sent here so that I could focus on the Heart itself is beyond me. I don't really fit in with people."

The Shaman said, "But you _are_ good with people Doc. Your fellow Rangers rely on you, your superiors leave you in peace to do your work and those people that you interact with regularly here on Tarkon trust you implicitly. That and Maya is very much . . ."

Doc made a gesture with one hand and said suddenly, "Don't go there! Just don't. I'll admit that it took me a long time to realize that I do love Maya, but we're so totally different that there's no possible way to relate to her beyond supplicant and sovereign."

The Shaman laughed good-naturedly. "In that supposition, you would be wrong. You forget Doc that she openly defied her father, the King, and left Tarkon for many years to learn about the wider galaxy and its people and ways. She understands that for Tarkon to exist, truly exist, it _must_ join with the League of Planets and that eventually the people of Tarkon must cast off their superstition against all technology. You are helping her to do this in ways large and small."

Suddenly the Shaman turned his virtual head in the general direction of the castle. "Doc, you must go to Maya's side! She is in great pain! She's calling for you!"

As the Shaman vanished from sight, Doc took off at a run to where he'd left his horse, Mel. Just as Mel came into sight, the Shaman's voice echoed in Doc's ear, "The Heart will help you in this."

Moments later, Doc felt himself travel without moving and found himself in the hallway leading to the King's private chambers. As he came into sight of the King's Guard, they saw him and said out loud, "Ranger Hartford! Princess Maya just called for you! Please go in."

Doc slowed to a fast walk as the guard opened the door for him and stood aside for him to enter. When he did, his first sight was of Maya, dressed in clothes more suited to her station of Princess, a long flowing dress, comfortable slippers on her feet, her golden-blond hair drawn back in a graceful braid, shining in the early afternoon sun, tiara reflecting its light in a prism effect across the walls. She saw him, ran to him and embraced him. "Thank the Heart you're here Doc. The King asked for you. I think . . . I think his time is at hand."

Doc nodded solemnly, put his arm around Maya's shoulders without thinking about it and said, "I'm here now Maya. Let's go see him."

The two walked into the inner chamber and stood on either side of the King's bed. Maya knelt down on a pillow on one side as Doc came to stand on the other. The old King opened eyes that seemed to see everything in the room and beyond. Turning his head to Doc he said, "Good Hartford, I am gladdened to see you."

Doc said, "I'm here sir. What can I do for you?"

The King smiled weakly. "Give me your hand please."

Taking his gloves off, Doc tucked them into his belt and took the King's withered hand in his smooth ones. The King spoke again. "You can forgive a foolish old man his pointless fears of all things new and strange. These last few years I have come to understand that not _everything_ new or strange is bad. _You_ are good whether you want to see it in yourself or not."

Taking Maya's hand in his other, the King turned to her. "My daughter, my dearest daughter . . . please forgive me for not being a true father to you; and please forgive me for driving you away as I did while trying to stay in my own narrow-sighted, little world. I have ever and always been so proud of you for what you did, for leaving all you knew behind to learn of the larger universe we all live in."

Bringing his hands together, the King intertwined Doc's and Maya's fingers together, breathed once more and fell silent as his last breath left him and his hands fell to rest upon his chest.

Maya's tear-choked voice strained. "Father . . . f-f-father, don't leave me!"

Pulling her hand from Doc's she put her head down on her Father's shoulder and screamed wordlessly into it, and began crying heavily.

Doc too, was overcome with emotion, as he stepped around the bed, knelt down beside Maya and held her to him. Turning from her father, she buried her face in Doc's shoulder and clung to him tightly as she continued to cry. All he could do was hold her to him and rock her back and forth. Speaking softly, "He's gone, I'm sorry Maya, so very, very sorry."

All over the planet, the Shaman appeared in the sky before every man, woman and child. "The old King is dead. Long live the new Queen . . . long live Queen Maya."

Doc was carrying Maya to her chambers in his arms. She had cried herself to sleep next to her father's deathbed, emotionally distraught, drained from all the long nights staying by his side. Doc put her to bed fully clothed and tried to let go but she held to him all the tighter so he just lay next to her, holding her. When he awoke the next day, he could tell by the position of the sunlight that it was very late in the morning, maybe even early afternoon. Maya lay next to him, her head on his chest. Both remained fully clothed although sometime in the night a servant had entered the room, took the boots off his feet and Maya's slippers off hers and placed a light coverlet over their legs up to their waists.

Maya stirred and woke. Looking into his eyes she took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. Doc felt lost in the sweetness of Maya's kiss and wished it could last forever. When the kiss ended, she nuzzled his face with hers and whispered into his ear, "Doc, thank you for being there with me at the end. I've been so very focused on tending to matters of the Throne; I fear I may have alienated you. All this time, with your quiet strength . . . never asking for anything; all those times we fought side by side, or laughed together or just stole a few precious moments for ourselves. You were always by my side until I drove you away with concern for my Father. I've loved you as a friend, before I really fell in love with you. You will be my Consort . . . won't you Walter?"

Doc didn't hesitate. "Just try and get rid of me."

Maya smiled. "Thank you Walter. Thank you for being here for me when I needed you most. I will make the official proclamation after my Father is buried and the time of mourning has passed for my people. It will probably be quite some time before we see each other again. As much as I want to stay here with you and bask in your warmth, I must tend to the needs of my people and the needs of the realm first before I can tend to my own pain completely. When I can, I will call for you."

Doc hugged her tightly. "I fully understand Maya. I'll be here when you're ready for that next step, sweetness of my heart."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6**

**Earth, Longshot Research Facility**

Honorary Galaxy Ranger Buzzwang was carrying a tray of food. Q-ball had forgotten to eat, _again._ Buzzwang felt it incumbent to get him to eat something, even if he had to bodily force Q-ball to sit down long enough to do so. Knocking on the door to the main lab, the room that Q-ball practically lived in, Buzzwang went in. As expected, there was Q-ball moving to and fro tending that experiment on the wall before moving to a matching terminal next to it and typing in strings of code that only Q-ball could really understand, though Dr. Nagata could sometimes figure it out. From there going to a table full of bits and pieces, fiddling with something or other before going back to the first experiment.

It was still early morning Earth time, but Q-ball was so active most days that he would only sleep after total exhaustion had snuck up on him. Buzzwang could count the number of times precisely that he had found Q-ball slumped over a computer keyboard or stretched out on the occasional empty table.

Buzzwang's voice, intended to be soothing, actually came across as kind of whiney most times, called out, "Q-ball, you forgot to eat again and so I brought some food for you. It is my intention to get you to consume this food even if I have to compel you to do so."

Q-ball's rather nasal voice made him sound like he always had a sinus cold. He answered back, "Buzzwang, I don't have time to eat! I'm right in the middle of a delicate series of tests and if I miss even one step, I'll have to start all over."

Shaking his head in a mannerism he'd picked up from Doc Hartford, Buzzwang said, "Be that as it may Q-ball, you _are_ only human and humans have to eat at regular intervals or otherwise you'll shut down involuntarily."

Q-ball fired back, "I'll be okay Buzz, really I will, I just have to finish this series and then I can get ready for my next project, dismantling that intact Crown Agent that was brought here a few weeks ago. I've been so busy with everything else that I'm only now able to get to it."

Buzzwang wouldn't be diverted and decided to try a mix of logic and what Major Foxx called 'horse-sense'. "Just tell me what you're doing and I'll pick up where you are now with that experiment. If you shutdown due to lack of fuel, think about where your experiments will be then."

Q-ball ignored Buzzwang and mused out loud to himself, "If only Dr. Nagata would let me transfer my brain into a support sled like his, I could finally focus on all of the research I've ever wanted to do and forget about eating ever again!"

Buzzwang felt his circuits go into high alert as soon as he overheard that comment. "That's enough of that kind of talk Q-ball! You may be my creator but I will not stand by and let you go into shutdown! For the last time, show me where you are with your experiment. I'll finish the observations and you _will_ eat this food or so help me, I _will_ tuck you under my arm, take you to the Medical Wing and have the doctors there sedate you and feed you intravenously!"

Q-Ball stood there a moment, his jaw hanging open in shock at being spoken to in that manner and wondered if Buzzwang was actually serious. He'd built Buzzwang to emulate human behavior and emotion as well as installing a heuristic processor so that he could interact with others more efficiently and learn on his own. Looking at Buzzwang now, the way he was standing and the way his optic sensors were locked onto him, Q-ball decided that Buzzwang would actually follow through on his threat if pushed any further. Reaching over and pressing the 'pause' button in the simulations he'd been running, Q-ball went to the counter where Buzzwang had set the tray down, pulled a stool over from another counter, sat down and began to eat slowly at first, and then with more gusto as his stomach finally succeeded in telling his brain, 'feed me'.

As Q-ball finished his involuntary meal break, Buzzwang said, "While you're digesting, please tell me about the Crown Agent you mentioned earlier."

Q-ball finished his food and drank from the water glass that Buzzwang and so thoughtfully included. "Even though B.E.T.A. has been in conflict with the Queen of the Crown for a relatively short time and the League of Planets longer, no one has ever really been able to dismantle an Agent. It's been assumed that they're androids of some kind but for all the reports that the Rangers have filed, where mention of being able to bribe an Agent or the way an Agent could be knocked out, I've been questioning that assumption. Until now, we've only ever recovered fragments of Agents. An arm or leg here, a foot there, an occasional hand, no one is absolutely certain exactly _what_ a Crown Agent really is. What fragments we _do_ have lend credence to the theory that they're androids because there is clear and unmistakable evidence of highly advanced electronics. The reports also mention a distinct hierarchy of rank within the Agents and we know of at least two types or models of Agent, the basic foot soldier model that fulfills roles like ground operations, fighter pilots, technicians and the other type the ones with the mostly black armor, capes, different cranial structure and a different voice that seem to fill the roles of the Command Level, capital ship commanders, fighter wing commanders and advisors to the Queen herself. I have a basic model Agent ready for dismantling but I just haven't found the time to do it until today."

Buzzwang said, "I must admit to a great deal of curiosity about them myself. Among other things, you programmed into me the three laws of robotics as postulated by the author Isaac Asimov. That being said, I have to wonder about how an android could act as Agents do, rounding up Humans, Girkins and any other sentient lifeforms the Queen orders them to and taking them to that horrible Psychocrypt of hers."

Q-ball nodded his head. "Sadly Buzzwang, not everyone values life as highly as the League of Planets does. Would you like to assist me?"

Even though Buzzwang didn't have a face with which to display emotions, the tone in his voice was display enough. "Yes Q-ball, I'd love to assist you. Thank you for asking. When do we start?"

Q-ball said, "As soon as you take this tray back to the Cafeteria. Thanks for looking out for me Buzzwang. You've begun to demonstrate behavior outside of what I programmed you for originally. That makes me glad that I put in that heuristic module when I built you."

While Buzzwang took the tray away, Q-ball finished the simulations he'd been running, made a few more log entries for review later, and then went to the table with the Crown Agent lying down on it.

Even though Q-ball had said Buzzwang could assist, Q-ball didn't think there'd be any problem if he ran some focused scans first. Activating his scanner, Q-ball had it start at the Agent's feet and slowly move up its legs, to its torso, shoulders and finally its head. Till now only basic scans had ever been performed on Agents so when the focused scanner found a shielded anomaly on the head that deflected the scanner beams, Q-ball was surprised. Gripping the head with his hands, he turned it side to side, felt some kind of servo-mechanism giving resistance and almost by accident found a hidden catch with his thumb. Actually pressing the catch caused a small cover to open on the band that would have covered the forehead on a human. Inside was a small button. Q-ball pushed the button and when nothing happened, pushed it again but held it in this time. Moments later, the Agent's eyes activated and a scratching sound came from the hidden vocalizer grill underneath the section of the head assembly that would cover the mouth on a human. Strangely, it sounded like someone clearing their throat after a prolonged silence.

The Agent looked around from where it lay before looking at Q-ball. "Alright meat-sack, where am I? Never mind; I know who you are now. You're the one known as Quentin Ball, aka Q-ball, the head of technical support for the Galaxy Rangers. The Queen will reward me greatly for bringing you to her. After she breaks you, prepare yourself for a one-way trip to the Psychocrypt.

At first, Q-ball was too surprised to speak. Thinking to himself, '_How does the Queen know my real name? I barely remember it. How does she know what I do here?'_

Q-ball straightened up and stepped back as the Agent got to its feet and stepped towards him. "Come with me if you want to live another five minutes meat-sack."

Q-ball took a deep breath and put his hands to his sides and spread his feet shoulder width apart. "I don't know how you know what you do, but I'm the one giving orders here tin man. Get back on the table or I _will_ put you on the floor."

The Agent took another step forward again and a sound almost like a laugh came from him. "I'd like to see you try meat-sack. I'm five times stronger than the average human, probably ten times stronger than you."

Q-ball said in a resigned tone of voice, "They say if you must resort to violence, then you've already lost."

About this time, Buzzwang returned from his errand but before he could do anything he saw the Agent quick step and try to grab Q-ball by the lapel of his lab coat. Q-ball stepped in, seemed to push the Agent's extended arm down and put the arm that parried the Agent's arm against its chest plate. Suddenly the Agent was bending over backwards and slamming against the floor with a solid crash. Q-ball stepped away from the Agent and resumed a neutral stance.

Getting to its feet, the Agent said, "What did you do to me meat-sack? I'm going to tear your head off."

Stepping in again from a different side, the Agent was just within arms reach when it threw a punch at Q-ball. Q-ball sidestepped, grabbed the punch with both hands, twisted and the Agent went through the air to crash heavily on the floor again. This time Q-ball stepped in closer and bent the Agent's hand against the joint of its wrist and arm and locked the elbow by pushing in with one hand.

Unexpectedly the Agent cried out in pain, "Enough! Enough! I give up! Stop! Please stop! That hurts!"

Buzzwang could see a puzzled expression on Q-ball's face. As he walked over to stand next to the confused scientist, he took a pair of heavy duty handcuffs out of a storage slot on his hip and locked them into place on the Agent's wrists as Q-ball let up on the joint lock that he had just administered so fluidly. Buzzwang pulled the Agent to his feet as Q-ball spoke. "You're an android! How can you feel anything, let alone pain?"

The Agent was placed back on the table in a sitting position by Buzzwang. "Because you stupid meat-sack, I'm not _just_ an android. I'm a cybernetic hybrid. I have an android body but an organic, living brain that still feels pain!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

**Firing Range, B.E.T.A. Mountain**

Niko walked into the Holographic Firing Range to burn off some stress. As expected, she saw Shane just finish a shooting sequence and get another perfect score.

As she came within earshot, she shook her head. "Shane you always get perfect scores, so why do you even try anymore? Not even the space sorcerer Mogul could make a construct that can outshoot you."

With his usual flourish, Shane spun both blasters on the trigger fingers of either hand and holstered them smoothly. Looking over to Niko he said, "Morning Lieutenant. Can't sleep?"

Niko said, "You can drop the formality Sergeant Gooseman. We're alone in the range right now. I don't sense any other living minds near here."

With the smile that he only gave to Niko, he said, "I love a woman who takes charge. How you been lately babe?"

Taking Shane's place on the firing line, she smoothly drew her shotgun from its holster and fired off ten shots in fifteen seconds and scored perfectly. "I've been better; and you're right, I couldn't sleep. Or I should say I _was_ asleep until I dreamt of my final encounter with Shimera two years ago and what it cost me. After that, I didn't see much point in trying to go back to sleep, so I thought I might find you here. How'd your mission go?"

Trading places with her, Goose drew both blasters and emptied their cylinder-type power cells with a rapid firing sequence that saw still another perfect score. Goose stepped off the firing line and replaced the power cells in his blasters as Niko took her place and started another course of fire. "Actually, it went better than I could have hoped. Darkstar changed her name to Dara Lawson and Ray dropped the 'sting' from his name and went legitimate. Owns his own repair shop and everything; Dara spends her days tending the home, working in her garden and raising their son, who coincidently is named Shane."

Caught off guard with that last comment, Niko missed her shot and was in turn tagged by the holo-simulant. Her score was tallied and the miss accounted for. She snapped her eyes to meet Goose's. "She has a son? How is that possible?"

Goose cracked a smug grin. "Well you see Niko, when a man and woman get together . . ."

Niko smiled and said, "Okay wiseass . . . you can stop the biology lesson. You know what I mean."

Goose couldn't help himself and chuckled. "I know, but the set up was too sweet to pass up. At any rate, I said almost the exact same thing to Dara when she told me that she and Ray had a child. She told me that their doctor figures it was just how their altered DNA was compensating for the state of things. Their son Shane went full term and had a normal birth weight and length. He hasn't manifested either of his parents' abilities but they told me that they'd keep a close eye on him as he grows up. I imagine that Dr. Nagata will interview them all at some point or another."

"And the Deactivator? What about that?" Niko asked.

Goose answered, "Ray took the pill and his eyes went to normal within a few minutes. Dara told me that her abilities had weakened while she was pregnant. After little Shane was born, they never returned to their previous levels and she told me she was just fine with that. She only uses her abilities for self defense now, when needed."

Niko raised an eyebrow. "Little Shane?"

Shane raised his hands in a gesture of negation. "Don't blame me for this one Niko. That's what Dara called him and he responds to it so it's been that way for a while now."

Niko smiled at Shane's reaction before asking, "Did they have an opinion on the fate of their fellow Supers?"

Goose said, "Not really. Ray told me that they've never kept in regular contact with any of the others and that's how they like it. Killbane is the only one left now and while I don't know when or where it will happen, I _can_ tell you that when he and I meet, it will be for the last time. One of us won't survive, and that's all I'll say about that."

The two were silent for a time as they went through three cooperative courses of fire, scoring perfectly each time.

Shane spoke next. "Can I ask you a question Niko?"

Niko said, "You just did, but you can ask another."

Goose smiled. "Thinking on the future, as I've done ever since I wrapped up things with Dara and Ray and thinking back to our agreement about our being together after we're leading our own teams, do you think you'd ever want to have a child with me? I mean now that you know that as a Super, if my DNA has been continually adapting the way Dara and Ray's has, that I might be able to father one. Do you think you'd want to?"

Making a show of looking around to make sure no one else was in the area even though she knew beyond a doubt that they were both still alone on the range, Niko walked over to Goose, looked up into his eyes and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the mouth before stepping back and saying, "Is that answer enough for you?"

Goose caught his breath and said, "I _love_ a woman who takes charge."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8**

**Earth, Longshot Facility, Q-ball's Lab**

For the first time in longer than he could remember, Q-ball was shocked speechless. When he recovered, he had to ask. "Did you just say that you're a hybrid? That you have a living, organic brain?"

The Agent sat there almost sulkily. "That's what I said meat-sack. Surprised are you? Good. That's the kind of thoughtlessness that will allow my Queen to conquer all of you ugly meat-sacks. When she does, I'll take great pleasure in personally throwing you into the Psychocrypt."

Q-ball suddenly started firing off questions rapidly. "Do you remember being organic? Do you remember when? Can you tell me what it felt like to wake up in an android body? Why did you do it? How long has it been?"

The Agent sat there and said nothing. "Breath meat-sack, breath; I won't be able to throw you into the Psychocrypt if you asphyxiate yourself by talking too much."

Buzzwang finally spoke. "You will speak to Q-ball respectfully you walking can opener! Don't forget that he put you on the floor twice without even trying!"

The Agent turned to look at Buzzwang before saying, "Look who's talking, you bipedal scrap pile! At least my emotions are genuine and not some heuristic simulation. If it weren't for these heavy restraints you put on me, I could rip your arms out of their sockets and beat you with them until you deactivate."

Q-ball took a breath to recover from his excitement and snapped out, "You can both be quiet right now!"

After they both stopped speaking for a moment. Q-ball addressed the Agent, "This revelation of yours is unexpected. Because of this, I don't know what exactly will happen, or what I should do to you or if I even can."

The Agent turned his head back to Q-ball. "What do you mean meat-er-uh human?"

Q-ball took a step back. We've never encountered a living machine outside of the Heart of Tarkon. What this means for you is that until instruction comes down from above, I don't know if you qualify as a sentient prisoner or a machine for dismantling. The League of Planets has very specific guidelines for the questioning of prisoners but I don't know if they apply to you."

The Agent was silent a moment longer. "For now, you can put me in a cell far, far away from here. Until you pressed the reset control, I was in stasis lock. Short of explosive decompression or being shot with one of your stun blasters, I can't be shut down again."

Before Q-ball could take a breath to speak, Buzzwang touched his chest plate and then put his hands palm out. "Don't look at me Q-ball. I'm not allowed to carry or use _any_ kind of weapon or weapon system. In case you forgot, you're the one who hardwired my cerebral matrix. My brain will shutdown due to program violation if I do anything more than hand a weapon to someone else."

Q-ball was a hard man to surprise, but when it did happen, he got flustered. "Let me call in one of the other Galaxy Rangers, maybe they'll know what to do. Buzzwang, stay and watch over our . . . our . . . whatever he is while I go make a call."

**Firing Range, B.E.T.A. Mountain**

Niko had just stepped back from Shane when her wrist-com sounded. Turning her attention to it, she activated it, saw Q-ball's image and said, "Lieutenant Niko speaking. Oh, hi Q-ball. What's going on?"

The relief in Q-ball's voice was almost palpable. "Thank goodness I was able to reach you Niko. Can you come to Longshot right away please? A situation has just come up, a very unexpected situation and I need your input on how to proceed."

Niko raised an eyebrow. "Sure thing Q-ball; as soon as I can get to the launch bay. I'll be there in less than an hour. Should I bring anyone or anything else with me?"

Q-ball looked thoughtful for a moment. "If you can find him, bring Sergeant Gooseman with you please. Other than that, I can't think of anything else."

Niko said, "Will do Q-ball. See you in just under an hour then. Lieutenant Niko, out."

Goose said, "I heard my name just now. What's up?"

Niko answered, "Q-ball wants to see me over at Longshot right away and said to bring you if I could. Do you feel up to it? You just came in from a long flight anyway."

Goose said, "No problem. I'll take a power nap on the flight over to Longshot, which should keep me going."

"Let's go then." Niko said.

**Longshot, Q-ball's Lab, Fifty Minutes Later**

Niko and Goose were able to get a Ranger yacht as soon as they got to the launch bay. After navigating the defensive gauntlet leading to Longshot, the two Rangers disembarked and went to Q-ball's lab straightaway. When they got there, they listened to Q-ball's account and went to the lab where Buzzwang stood watch over the restrained Agent.

The Agent looked up from contemplating his feet as Niko and Gooseman walked in. "Oh joy. Two more meat-sacks; a few more and I'll have a package."

Shane's eyebrows rose when he heard the comment. He growled, "One more comment like that and I'll be happy to blast you back into stasis lock tin man."

Niko said, "Stand easy Shane." Stepping up to the Agent, Niko said, "I'll need to do a telepathic scan to verify your statement that you have an organic brain and weren't faking being in pain earlier. Do you understand Agent . . ."

The Agent said, "You can call be Agent 11811, if that makes it easier for you Ranger. I'm not really in a position to dictate anything."

Goose said, "What do you know about that Niko? An Agent with an inherent grasp of the obvious. How 'bout I just shoot him and be done with it?"

Niko turned to him. "Whether 11811 is telling the truth or not Shane, we don't shoot our prisoners until and unless they become a genuine threat to others or to us."

Goose said, "I'm just saying it's an option is all."

Turning back to the Agent, Niko said, "I've never performed a telepathic scan on an agent before 11811. I won't force myself into your mind if I can help it. Are you ready?"

The Agent just nodded.

Niko touched her badge and put her hand to the Agent's head. Through her mind's eye she was able to review everything that 11811 had seen since waking up, his threats to Q-ball, being thrown to the floor, and his surprise at being handled so easily by a 'meat-sack'. Going back further, she saw how 11811 came to be there at Longshot. He'd been on a deep range scouting mission when his ship was attacked by a pirate. Looking at his scanners, the ship was identified as the Iron Falcon, commanded by Captain Kidd. 11811 tried to evade and get onto a hyperspace vector when the Iron Falcon shot out the engines on his fighter. As the power core on his ship went critical, 11811 hit his ejection switch. Everything went dark after that until he was restarted by Q-ball.

Going back still further, Niko was able to trace 11811 clear until the moment of his original activation. Before that, there were only fleeting images, impressions, feelings really and not much to go on. Niko withdrew her psychic probe and returned to her own self. Opening her eyes and stepping back, she said, "He's telling the truth. 11811 _was_ an organic being at one time. Because of that, he's entitled to humane treatment under the League of Planets Articles of War pertaining to prisoners."

Shane said, "Where do we go from here then?"

Niko turned to Q-ball and said, "Q-ball, perform the most detailed technical scan you can without dismantling 11811, to make sure he's not booby-trapped or has any kind of homing or recording devices. After that, Shane and I will transport him to B.E.T.A. for detainment and questioning."

Q-ball said, "Thank you so much Niko. I'll do that scan right away. Buzzwang, escort the Agent to the scanner and stay with him until he comes out and then you'll take him to the ship that brought Niko and Gooseman. Understand?"

Buzzwang said, "You got it Q-ball." Turning to 11811 and helping him off the table where he'd sat until then, he said, "Come on."

While Buzzwang and Q-ball performed the scan, Gooseman faced Niko. "Are you sure I can't just shoot him?"

**B.E.T.A. Mountain, several hours later**

After taking 11811 back to B.E.T.A. Mountain, Goose and Niko returned to their separate and respective quarters and managed to get a few hours sleep before going to see Commander Walsh in his office.

Walsh was saying, "You're absolutely sure about what you saw in your mind's eye Niko? The Agent was an _organic_ being at one time before being hybridized into the Agent we have in the stockade?"

Niko answered, "As sure as I can be with the cursory scan I did at Longshot. I would need to do a deep scan but since Q-ball _has_ verified that 11811 has an organic brain after calibrating his equipment to circumvent the shielding built into 11811's head, he qualifies as a sentient being and would have to give his permission."

Goose spoke up, "Niko, stop referring to "him" and using 11811 like a name; organic brain or not, I'm not entirely convinced that it's telling the truth. For all we know, the Queen started with an organic brain, a dead one, had her scientists throw some hardware into it to simulate life and turned on like any other machine just in case one day, an Agent was captured and examined."

Niko considered what he said a moment before answering. "While that _is_ a plausible theory Shane, what we do know for sure ever since Earth's computers were first linked into the League of Planets' database, is that the Queen has been using Agents, with very little modifications to them, for as long as there is a record of her campaign of conquest. I don't believe there was any way for her to know, before encountering humans, just how curious we can be about anything and everything. Why would she have had the shielding built into the Agents in the first place unless there was something that she wanted to hide from the League? Most surprising to me right now, is that the Andorian Science Bureau never thought to capture an Agent or recover the pieces of any of them after a battle somewhere and analyze the remains for themselves. I think there's something not being said about this, but that's only a hunch on my part."

"That would be a correct hunch my dear Niko."

All eyes in the room turned to see Waldo Zeptic, the Andorian who first initiated contact with humanity, walk into Walsh's office. He had slowed down a little in the intervening years since first contact had been made, but was otherwise still very active.

Walsh spoke, "I asked Ambassador Zeptic here to either confirm or deny the findings so far, Lieutenant Niko. I too have suspected for a long time now that the Andorians weren't entirely forthcoming with us, but until this revelation concerning the Agents, I had nothing more to go on than a hunch as well."

Waldo walked over to stand in the rough circle formed by Walsh's desk, Goose and Niko. He seemed to hunch over into himself at the slightly accusatory tone in Walsh's voice. Taking a breath, he spoke, and the guilt that could be heard was almost painful to hear from someone as proud and regal of demeanor as Waldo. "Both of your hunches would be correct, Commander Walsh, Lieutenant Niko. What I'm about to tell you all is not meant to deflect blame or lessen the responsibility of the League of Planets' withholding this information from you. When the Queen first became known to the League, little notice was given of her. The League had already had observers immersed into the native populations of the various worlds that would eventually fall to the Queen and her war machine. As she began to prey on other worlds, attempts, many attempts were made to negotiate with her and end her aggressive expansionism, but each and every attempt was rejected. The League finally stopped trying to talk to her when she sent the very first Slaver Lords to us. Slaver Lords made from the very people we sent to try and negotiate an honorable peace. After that, we, the members of the League of Planets began readying for war."

Goose said, "What's this got to do with the Agent we have in lock-up Waldo?"

Waldo spoke again. "Allow me some leeway, Sergeant Gooseman, and I'll come to that point presently. At first, the Queen confined her depredations to space based actions. She would sterilize a planet of its population, and then move her automated factories into place to harvest planetary resources for use as building materials and turn out more spacecraft, fighters mostly but also the pieces that go into her capital shipyards. Quite suddenly, or so it seemed, Agents, hundreds, sometimes thousands of Agents started appearing in the role of foot soldiers. The League was unprepared and we started to lose ground. You must remember that while many of our members' histories were as violent as yours, none of them had ever fought a ground war in over a century or more. We had no means at first to build or rebuild in some of the older members' cases, any kind of ground based military force. Our various law enforcement agencies were not trained to deal with the level of violence necessary to stand up to a battalion of Agents. Family histories were being researched; records were found from so long ago that they were practically legend, on how to select, train and equip those who would be soldiers. Isolated militias began, underground resistance groups formed after escapees and survivors both began to relate to us tales of overheard comments from the Agents themselves of people being herded together onto transports instead of outright killed. Eventually we relearned how to eavesdrop on enemy communications. From these disparate sources a picture was formed."

Niko said, "The Queen was experimenting with various sentient beings, trying to find those best suited to being turned into Slaver Lords; and I think it would be a safe assumption, now that we know what we know about Agents, that some of these captured people were being turned into them as well."

Waldo nodded. "Your insight serves you well Niko. That's precisely what we learned. As this information was being relayed to us, so too were the reports of interrogations and sometimes, outright torture of captured Agents. Depending on your point of view, it was fortunate or unfortunate that the outright vivisections of Agents were confined to only a few groups of fighters. They're audio, visual and written accounts were considered to be what humans used to term as 'Top Secret'. These groups were taken up and turned into teams of such dedicated, dangerous and vicious fighters that they were only employed on specific missions."

Goose said, "We used to call the groups you describe as 'Special Forces', Waldo. Teams of such highly trained and capable people, that it was considered wasteful to use them on anything less than missions that could alter or completely change the very fabric of the conflict itself. The Supertroopers, of which I'm one of the last, was considered the ultimate Special Forces Unit, and also the last such unit ever made by humans."

Waldo nodded his head, "Exactly Sergeant Gooseman. These groups were ordered under pain of death . . ."

Niko blurted out, "Pain of death? Are you serious Waldo? The Andorians are renowned for their pursuit of the mental disciplines and to finding the best possible solutions to any problems. How could they, let alone any other member of the League possibly sanction summary executions?"

Waldo continued, "Yes Niko, that's exactly what we did. Not one of our prouder moments I assure you. At any rate, it was a different time and we were very much playing at 'catch up' in order to survive. As I was saying, these groups were ordered under pain of death not to reveal what they had discovered about the Agents. The League made the determination, at the emphatic suggestion of the Andorian Science Bureau that the Agents should be treated as nothing more than machines to be destroyed at every opportunity. It was feared that if the general populace of the League knew what the Andorian Science Bureau did about them, that our collective peoples wouldn't fight as hard as they could. Our 'Special Forces', yes, I like that term. Our Special Forces as Sergeant Gooseman called them were instrumental in stemming the most aggressive of the expansion that the Queen was attempting. As we learned how to combat the Queen's air, space and ground forces, the Special Forces we had made were intentionally being sent out on missions with very low survival probabilities. We had created these weapons to fight for us, but then we began to fear them ourselves."

It was Walsh that spoke this time. "Waldo, forgive me for saying so, but that's both barbaric and dishonorable!"

Waldo said, "In that, you would be correct beyond any shadow of a doubt Commander. As I said when I arrived, what I'm telling you is not meant to deflect blame or evade responsibility; it simply is what it is, no more, no less. Eventually, we came to a balance of terror; I guess you would call it. The League has now held the Queen of the Crown at bay for over two centuries. She shows no sign of stopping her plans to rule the known universe and even more strange is that she shows no visible signs of aging. Even as long lived as we Andorians are, even we eventually grow old and die. We don't know if the Queen is a hybrid herself, a clone, immortal or some bizarre abomination of all those. In the final analysis, we've been fighting against the Queen for so long that it isn't even questioned that the Agents should be destroyed. What started out as an incidental discovery has been largely forgotten but for very few of the most trusted leaders within the League of Planets. Before coming here, I was in conference with said leaders of the League. At first, they didn't want me to say anything about the true nature of the Agents to you but I pointed out that since the Earth became a member of the League, and the Galaxy Rangers created as a protective entity, you have helped to give us the first _real_ progress against the Queen in one hundred years. I also pointed out that it would only be a matter of time before you discovered the truth for yourselves. On behalf of the entire League of Planets, I implore you _not_ to release this information to the member worlds of the League. It could jeopardize what gains we have made."

Walsh said, "Thank you for your input on this matter, Ambassador, but we'll need to discuss this for ourselves. If you'll recall, part of the very charter of Articles of League membership is to share information, _all_ information with the member worlds. What you're proposing is that we disregard this tenant simply because it's inconvenient. Clearly, the other members of the League have decided that this is necessary but the Earth must decide for itself how to proceed. Too much of our own history is looked upon as inconvenient but we as a people decided that an inconvenient truth is still the truth. We'll be in touch with you and the other League members when a decision has been reached."

Waldo's shoulders sagged a fraction. He said, "I understand Commander and for what it's worth, it is that very belief that makes me admire and respect your species as much as I do. Good day one and all."

After Waldo left, Walsh pressed a control on his desk and spoke. "You were monitoring the discussion Major Foxx?"

Zachary Foxx's voice came over the speaker inset on Walsh's desk, "I heard every word and I'm glad you disabled the microphone on my end or I would've torn Waldo a new one, that's for sure. Knowing what we know now, do you think the Agent can be turned? Made into a double agent of our own? Niko? Could you do it? Persuade the Agent to give us inside information?"

Niko said, "Like I said to the Commander at the start of all this, I'd need to perform a deep scan on 11811 and to do that, I need his permission. When I performed the short scan at Longshot, I did get the distinct feeling that there was more information available than what 11811 himself is aware of. I felt the presence of a mental block of some kind. I'm not sure if the block is chemical, hardware, software or a combination of the three. Without the deep scan, I can't say for sure. It's well known that the human brain has a phenomenal ability for recall, even after conditioning with drugs, behavior modification and other less palatable methods but we don't really know _what_ the Queen of the Crown is in terms of species. Visibly she's a humanoid derivative but that doesn't really mean much. For example, Captain Kidd could be considered a humanoid derivative. He's a bipedal sentient with visibly avian characteristics, but that doesn't mean his brain works the same as ours. If 11811 gives me his permission and I can get past the blocks in his mind, then I'll be able to answer your questions.

Foxx said, "Fair enough Niko. Get to work right away. As soon as you have something to go on, we'll make a plan that may just put an end to the Queen and her delusions of grandeur one way or another."

"As ordered Zach; Commander? Do you have anything to add?" Niko said.

Walsh nodded his head, "Yes, I do Lieutenant. Go ahead as you see fit, but I would like Sergeant Gooseman with you at all times when you're with the prisoner so that if he tries to hurt you physically or if, assuming you get permission for the deep scan, the prisoner tries to hurt you mentally, Gooseman's advanced bio-defenses will enable him to physically break your link. I know that it's risky to break a mental link like the one you're proposing forcibly but I'd rather you had a headache for a day or two versus your very persona being overwritten and controlled somehow. Understood?"

"As ordered Commander." She said again. Turning to Goose she said, "You're with me Sergeant. Let's get started."

As soon as they were out of Walsh's office, Goose said, "I love a woman who takes charge especially as that you two lost me about half way through the conversation. It was practically Greek to me, so I'll just shoot him if I need to."

Niko couldn't stop herself as she chuckled loudly.

**Stockade, B.E.T.A. Mountain**

After moving 11811 to an interview room and away from his cell, Niko, with Goose standing back a little explained what she wanted to do, and what the deep scan would entail.

After hearing her out, 11811 said, "As I said earlier Ranger, I'm in no position to dictate what does or doesn't happen to me. I _am_ your prisoner after all."

Niko replied, "That's not how we here at B.E.T.A. or in the Galaxy Rangers like to do things, so long as we have a choice in the matter. Will you consent to the deep scan?"

11811 was silent a moment and then nodded. "Very well Ranger. What do I need to do?"

Niko answered, "Just sit still and if you have any ability to relax, do so. Try not to fight me as I enter your mind if you can help it. This is new ground for me, scanning a cyborg hybrid. If I encounter too much interference, I'll withdraw my psychic probe. Do you understand?"

"I do. Let's get this over with Ranger." 11811 said.

Niko came around to stand behind 11811. Taking a deep breath to focus and center her being, she tapped her badge and placed both hands on either side of 11811's head. At first she duplicated the methodology she'd used at Longshot but as soon as she started encountering mental locks she started searching out the virtual chinks in the armor of the Agent's mind. Easier than she expected, she found the 'key' that started to unlock the locks.

11811 felt nothing at first but then as Niko encountered the first blocks, he felt a little pressure but it dissipated before it became truly noticeable.

Suddenly, 11811 remembered . . . everything . . .


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9**

_His name was Zulé. He was an artist. From his earliest days, as soon as he was able to express himself, Zulé's gentle spirit manifested; music, writing, theater. Anything that allowed him to express himself, he naturally gravitated to. The painting arts became his first and greatest love. As he grew into adulthood, he focused on painting; paper, canvas, wood, skin art, practically any kind of painting. Soon, his work gained an appreciative audience and Zulé found a patron who supported him, bought some of his work, acted as mid-level dealer for other items or simply introduced his works to any and all interested parties. Zulé married and had a daughter._

_Then came the dark times._

_The Queen of the Crown came to power and discouraged any and all things of a creative or expressive nature. Soon only that which furthered her budding plans of conquest was allowed. Art fell to the wayside, as did most other outlets of creative expression; then were outright outlawed. Small rebellions began but were ruthlessly crushed under the metal-shod feet of the Agents. Machines that acted almost sentient, capable of limited creative thought, but only that thought which allowed them to understand the enemies of their Queen. Soon, the resistance ended altogether, industries were nationalized and geared solely towards preparing war material. People began to disappear from their homes, more and more Agents appeared. It didn't matter who you were, criminal, elected official, or just someone unlucky enough to be gathered up in a sweep, everyone was taken. Then the tales began to circulate. Those fortunate few who escaped the sweeps came back to say that people's brains were being removed, their bodies destroyed, and the brains being implanted into the shells of Agents. Younglings, but only after puberty, when the brain was biochemically mature, old, male, female. It didn't matter. Anyone younger was never seen again and it was never known if they were destroyed out of hand or if they were put into some kind of maturation chamber and kept for genetic diversity._

_Zulé was able to escape the first several sweeps. Until his wife and daughter both became ill. Desperately searching for food and medicine one morning, Zulé was taken up in a sweep and converted into an Agent the same day. Perhaps it was simply a coincidence of cosmic proportion or perhaps the Queen ordered it specifically, but the Agent once known as Zulé the Artist, personally liquidated the two people that had once meant more to him than his own life. He was unaware of it as anything more than a sterilization process as that the woman and child were both deemed 'defective' since they were too sick to heal easily. Then the real work began. Zulé became Agent 11811, his original persona buried so deeply beneath bioelectronic hardware, software and mental blocks that from that moment forward, everything was simply an audio/visual record regularly downloaded into the Queen's mainframe computer. Everything that had once driven Zulé the Artist was subsumed by an implanted dedication to the Queen of the Crown and her vision of the future for the entire known galaxy. Then the war started. The populations of the conquered planets were put through the same process as the one once known as Zulé. More Agents were produced this way, a virtually inexhaustible source of soldiers._

_11811 was told to hate the League of Planets, and he did. Thought of as little more than ugly meat-sacks fit only for destruction, enslavement, either actual or after going into the Queen's Psychocrypt and being turned into a Slaver Lord through which the Queen could see, hear and act on a limited scale to further her plans, the meat-sacks at first were no better than food beasts to the slaughter. After a time though, they learned how to fight, and fight well enough to achieve an eventual stalemate with the Queens' forces._

_Time held no meaning any longer. Months became years. Years became decades. Decades became centuries. 11811 fought and fought well. He killed, maimed and rampaged for his Queen and thought nothing of it. There was just enough thought allowed in him to drive him forward into greater and greater responsibilities. His ambition was to become an Agent of the Black Armor and get command of a capital ship. Then came the mission where the meat-sack known as Captain Kidd ambushed him, destroyed his scout ship and eventually sold him to the Galaxy Rangers._

11811 remembered everything. Every thought, dream, wish or memory he'd ever had . . . every atrocity he'd ever committed in the name of the Queen. Standing up from his chair at the table in the interview room, 11811 knocked Niko back and away unthinkingly. Clenching his fists and flexing his arms, 11811 snapped the restraints he'd been wearing like tinfoil. His arms were outstretched from his body, his back arched and his face tilted up staring into nothingness. He screamed. A bizarre sound part machine, part man . . . all pain; he screamed as everything he'd ever done since his unwilling conversion into an Agent bombarded his consciousness. Too concerned with Niko at that moment, Shane could only hold her to him as they looked on from where they sat on the floor looking up.

When 11811 stopped screaming, he straightened up and looked at his hands. Hands that at one time could create beautiful paintings. Hands that at one time had caressed his wife as they lay together making love. Hands that at one time had held the single most precious thing in the universe, his infant daughter for the first time. Hands that had held the gun that had killed them both and too many others to count. Softly, more to himself than to anyone else in the room, he said, "I live again."

As 11811 turned to face the two Rangers, he saw the tall man draw a blaster but the woman stayed his hand and said, "Don't shoot him Shane. He's okay now. I saw his thoughts; he won't hurt anyone any more."

The man, Shane, said, "The hell you say! He just snapped those heavy restraints like paper!"

11811 looked on. "My apologies Rangers, I was unaware of my actions just then."

Shane and Niko got to their feet but Shane kept his blaster in hand, ready to fire.

Niko said, "No harm no foul 11811. I knew as I unlocked the last of your memories what your likely reaction was going to be, so I had just finished my deep scan and was stepping away when you stood up. I'll be okay now. What about you? Did I hurt you?"

11811 said in response, "My name is Zulé, Ranger Niko. 11811 was my slave name. I am . . . was, an artist, long, long ago. To answer your question, no, you didn't hurt me, at least not physically. Thank you for freeing me Ranger Niko. I now know who I once was, what I became and what and who I am now. With your permission, I'd like to be put into an isolation cell for a few days while my persona reintegrates with my memories. I have many things to come to terms with and am unable to do so in an environment that is prone to interruption."

Niko said, "Alright, that won't be a problem Zulé. When you're ready to talk, let the guards know, and they'll contact me."

"Thank you very much Ranger Niko. We'll speak again soon." Zulé said.

After the guards took Zulé away, Shane focused on Niko. "Are you sure you're alright babe?"

Niko smiled. "I'll be fine Shane, really I will. I need to meditate and clear my head. Zulé has done some wonderful things in his past life and some really horrible things too. Come and see me tomorrow and we'll go talk with Commander Walsh after that. I'm not promising anything, but we just _might_ have a willing double agent to help us out. We'll know more in a few days."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10**

**B.E.T.A. Mountain, Isolation Holding Cells**

Niko was expecting the message from the Isolation Holding Cells when it came three days later and went there straightaway after informing Major Foxx and Commander Walsh as soon as she'd received it. She found Zulé sitting cross-legged on the bunk in the cell. He'd been sitting like that since being placed there after the deep scan Niko had performed.

Zulé spoke first. The first thing she noticed was that his voice had softened a little. It sounded less like a machine and more like someone who'd had vocal surgery. "Thank you for coming Ranger Niko. When I was an artist, meditation was an old friend of mine. I was glad to reacquaint myself so easily. I already know what you want to ask me, will I become a double agent for B.E.T.A. now that I've remembered who I was. I must refuse your request and instead, ask for asylum with the League of Planets."

Niko stood across the room from Zulé and said, "As far as I'm concerned, I understand completely, but those I answer to won't be so understanding."

Zulé answered back without skipping a beat, "I know that. In return, I'm prepared to give you all the information you want that I have. I have knowledge of things that are unknown even to the Andorian Science Bureau. Things that will compel B.E.T.A. to reevaluate everything they think they know about the Queen of the Crown."

"What kind of things?" Niko asked.

Zulé answered, "Things like why the Queen never seems to age to start. Also, you may think that there has only ever been one psychocrystal made from a human. The one you call Aliza Foxx . . ."

Before Zulé could continue, the door to the isolation cell opened suddenly and Zachary Foxx could be seen standing in the door, backlit from the lights in the corridor. He strode forward and grabbed Zulé by the neck with his bionic left arm and slammed him into the wall behind the bunk. Growling low, he said, "Tell us what you know agent before I twist your head off!"

Niko had sensed that Zachary was near, but she hadn't counted on this reaction. Even though she knew that her own strength couldn't break Zach's grip unless he wanted it to, she still put both hands on his. "Zachary! What do you think you're doing? Put him down right now and leave. This course of action you're taking won't get us anywhere!"

Zachary turned his head fractionally to track Niko with his eyes and said firmly, "Stand down Lieutenant! That's an order!"

Niko met Zach's blue eyes with her green ones and said calmly, "No Major, it's _you_ who will stand down. This person is my prisoner, not yours. I never officially gave over custody to B.E.T.A. This person is still under my protection and will remain so for the foreseeable future. More so now that I can see you're not thinking clearly. Now, _stand down_ Zachary. You know I'm right."

Zach's voice returned to its normal register, which was still pretty gruff most of the time. "Dammit Niko! Stay out of my head!"

Niko continued on in the same calm tone of voice, "I'm not in your head right now Zach. I don't need to be. The Galaxy Ranger regulations are all the insight I need right now. You know it and so do I."

Zach lowered Zulé and stepped away. Saying nothing more, he turned on his heel and left the room.

"Are you alright Zulé?" Niko asked.

Zulé returned to his cross-legged position from before and said, "To borrow one of your phrases, Ranger Niko, no blood, no foul. Ranger Foxx will never believe me but I can understand his reaction. I too, was once joined to another, what you call married. As I was saying, though you may believe that there has only ever been one psychocrystal made from a human, you would be wrong. Actually, there have been several hundred. The Aliza Foxx crystal and a few others are still in existence. All the others have long since been drained."

Niko's eyes widened a little. "Please explain what you mean by drained."

Zulé said, "Exactly what I said. Drained. The Queen of the Crown doesn't age because she feeds off only the strongest crystals she gets."

Niko couldn't stop her jaw from dropping a little at this piece of information.

Zulé simply looked at her before speaking again. "Already, I've given you something you never knew Ranger Niko. Now that I've given, it's time for the League and for B.E.T.A. to do the same. Once I've been given irrevocable asylum, I'll tell you more."

Before leaving the room Niko said, "Yes, you will," and walked out to report her findings up to this point.

Three hours later, Niko reentered the cell. "Both the League representatives here on Earth and B.E.T.A.'s leadership has agreed to your terms Zulé. Please come with me to somewhere more conducive to a long discussion."

A short time later, in a modestly appointed conference room, Zulé took a seat on one end of the table. To one side were Waldo, Zozo and Niko, the other, Commander Walsh, Q-ball and a stenographer unit. In front of him, Zulé had read through the Articles of Asylum and signified acceptance with a double thumbprint.

Walsh spoke, "The League thought it best if only we few already here at B.E.T.A. Mountain sat it on this first debriefing session. Lieutenant Niko and the man to my right, Q-ball, you already know. I am Commander Joseph Walsh, I command the Galaxy Rangers overall. Across from me are Ambassadors Waldo Zeptic of Andor and his colleague, Zozo of Kirwin. Also, we will be recording this session as well as any and all follow up sessions so that there is no question of proper procedure. Do you have any problems with this arrangement Mr. uh . . . how would you like to be addressed?"

Zulé looked at Walsh and said, "Just Zulé will be fine Commander, and I am satisfied with conditions as they are. I will inform you should this change. Where would you like me to begin?"

Waldo spoke this time. "Please elaborate on the statement you made to Lieutenant Niko a short time ago, about the Queen feeding off the psychocrystals."

Zulé nodded. "Very well; before I begin though, it must be understood that what I'm about to tell you was learned over time on mission after mission. Conquest after conquest; at the time of my crossing paths with the Paraboid, Captain Kidd, I had only to accomplish my scouting mission for the Queen and upon my return, I was to have been made into an Agent of the Black Armor, in command of my own capital ship. In preparation for that elevation, this body that you see before you was already in the process of the series of upgrades required. Among those upgrades, were memory engrams of what I'm now about to tell you."

Walsh spoke, "We understand Zulé. Please begin when you're ready."

Zulé spoke again after a moment. "The Queen of the Crown as you already know is a humanoid derivative. She came to power on our homeworld approximately three hundred earth years ago. Our species, including the Queen herself and all of the original agents, specifically their brains, mine as well, originates from what your astronomers call the Perseus Galactic Arm. The original name for our species has since been lost to the passage of time but for simplicity sake, you may as well refer to us as Perseans. As a people, we were already aware that there had been or still was other life in the universe. Ruins of incredible age were found on the outer most planets of our solar system and at first only fragments of records from those early civilizations. The original psychocrypt was found fairly early on but no one had the slightest idea what it was used for. Theories abounded; transmitter, energy generator, torture device, executions, religious ceremonies. Then one day, while investigating the psychocrypt, a researcher by the name of Zathura, fell and hit her head. In a daze this person placed their bloodied hand on the activation node and the psychocrypt came to life. The computer that controlled the crypt was semi-sentient and for lack of a better word, 'downloaded' a copy of its operating system, specifically, its purpose and how to use it, into this researcher. At first, no one even considered that the crypt was still operating even if only in a type of stand by mode. This researcher published her findings and became prominent in her field. Soon, with the help of the crypt computer, she became an authority in her field. That fame was parlayed into wealth and eventually into power. The woman who would be queen went into government and eventually had herself elected to the highest office. Unbeknownst to everyone was the fact that during her rise to power, the woman who would be queen was quietly experimenting with the crypt and learning how to use it to its fullest potential. It was during this time that she learned that she could extend her own lifespan with the crypt by extracting life energy from living subjects. At first, she used what you would call transients; I believe you called them 'homeless' persons. Never too many from the same area nor too often; only the charity organizations paid any attention and their complaints were largely ignored by the law enforcement of the time. After she'd learned everything she could about the crypt, she orchestrated a series of crises that deceived all the other governments of our world into looking to her for solutions. When she had all her plans in place, she took control, quickly and but for a few exceptions quietly. All the other world leaders were executed and she made herself Queen in fact as well as deed. The Queen was as mortal as any of you when she first came to power. Early on, she began aggressively exploring our area of space, looking for resources, other races to exploit by whatever means necessary. Eventually, she had everyone but herself converted into Agents whose only purpose was to further her goals. The Queen is the last organic member of our species. She feeds on only the strongest of the psychocrystals and they are what sustain her now. That and the only other thing she allows herself, a vice really. A taste she acquired from the first colony ship she had captured and examined. As long as she has a steady supply of strong willed subjects to convert to crystals, she's effectively immortal. This is not to say that she can't be killed, but such a thing is well nigh impossible as that she keeps herself surrounded by an entire legion of the best Agents and their Slaver Lord overseers."

Niko said, "You said to me that there had actually been several hundred humans turned into psychocrystals Zulé. What exactly did you mean by that?"

Zulé said, "As the Queen spread her reign throughout our sector of space, she assimilated the histories of other species. Several of those that were taken had already been to Earth many times as well as other worlds like Andor and Kirwin. Sending remote probes to your section of the galaxy, the Queen was intrigued by your species, so similar to her own. She was most fascinated by your duality, your capacity for phenomenal acts of cruelty upon others of your race and at the same time, your efforts to raise your collective consciousness to better yourselves. By this time she had already created the Slaver Lords as a class of supervisors as well as her ability to see and act through them, wherever they may have been."

Q-ball spoke now. "But how did she acquire her first humans for the psychocrypt? We've never lost a colony or even a single settlement for that matter."

Zulé nodded as he spoke. "True, but how many colony _ships_ have been lost?"

Q-ball opened his mouth to make a rebuttal but stopped as Zulé's words struck home. "I see your point now. To our knowledge, there have been at least two ships confirmed lost and as many as two others listed as 'missing and presumed lost'.

Zulé said, "Thanks to the memory engrams I received in preparation for donning the Black Armor, I can confirm that three of those four lost ships were in fact captured by us. The one that got away was due to its proximity to the Tarkon solar system. The Heart rescued it from us. That is why the people of Tarkon are so leery of high technology, because of survivor accounts of us, the Agents of the Queen, though they don't know that in any way but as legends. Of those three we took, all but the youngest and oldest of its occupants were turned into Agents or psychocrystals. The Queen was astounded by the sheer power of a human-made psychocrystal. It takes about seven Girkins to make one crystal, an average of two or three Andorians, one, if the Andorian in question is very old and has developed their mental faculties to their fullest, and almost a dozen Kiwis. If not for the ability of the League of Planets to learn from its mistakes and turn defeat into a steady string of small victories, the Queen would have assimilated the Earth by the beginning of your twentieth century, long before you'd have been able to mount any kind of resistance to her forces."

Waldo spoke just then, "Even though I believe I already know the answer to this question, it must still be asked so that it is in the permanent record. What happened to the youngest and oldest of the colonists whose ships were seized?"

Zulé looked over to the elder statesman. "As harsh or tactless as it may sound Ambassador, to put it simply, they were terminated as being unusable to the Queen."

Waldo looked away from Zulé and said sotto voce, "As I suspected."

Zozo was beside himself with impotent rage and was barely able to say, "That heartless, soulless, thing has _much_ to answer for. May she burn in all the hells that have ever been or ever will be, slowly, agonizingly and for all eternity."

Walsh, who had said nothing after Zulé began speaking turned to Zozo and said, "For what it's worth Zozo, I concur wholeheartedly with your statement."

Niko spoke. "Zulé, do you have any idea why the Aliza Foxx crystal is still active?"

Zulé shook his head. "While I don't _know_ for certain why that is, if I were to speculate, I would have to say that there is some kind of mental bond between it and your Major Foxx. It is known to us that the two were mated, and for a time the Queen used the crystal she has to telepathically torment Major Foxx. Perhaps in using the crystal as she did, the Queen somehow . . . altered the persona within it. If I may ask, did the person of Aliza Foxx ever display any psychic ability?"

Niko shook her head, "Not around me, at least not openly. You would have to ask Major Foxx himself but considering he nearly wrenched your head from your shoulders when you met the first time, I wouldn't suggest asking him directly."

At that moment, the door opened and Zachary Foxx walked in. Walsh, fully aware of what had transpired in the holding cell earlier, stood up, focused his attention on Zachary and said, "Major Foxx, you were _not _invited to participate in this conference due to your, shall we say, emotional conflict of interest with regards to this person, the former Agent Zulé. Why are you here?"

Looking around the room, Zachary said, "I won't waste anyone's time or intelligence with an empty apology for my actions of earlier. I only just found out that this conference was taking place. Since you didn't leave specific orders with anyone saying that I wasn't allowed into this meeting Commander, I felt I should be here all the same. Unless you've relieved me of duty that is, sir."

Walsh resumed his seat before speaking. "Not at this time Major, but I very nearly did when I was told that you assaulted Mister Zulé. That being said, I was still _very_ disappointed in you Zachary. Since you are here now, and you're right in that I didn't order you kept away, you may join us for the remainder of this discussion, provided that you sit completely opposite Mister Zulé. In point of fact, for right now, in this room, you will remove your badge and slide it across the table to me so that if you lose your composure again, you will be unable to activate your implant or your thunderbolt. Do I make myself _completely_ clear Major?"

In answer, Zachary did as he'd been told. Taking his badge off, he slid it across the table and sat down on the far end of the table from Zulé.

For the next several minutes, Niko, Waldo and Zozo brought Zachary up to speed. When he was up to date he said, "Aliza _did_ register on the PSI index but very weakly. During her initial testing, it was determined that when she was excited she measured at about a .5 or .8, depending on the subject being discussed at that time. When she was relaxed and receptive or focused clearly on any one thing, she measured at 1.2 or 1.4; but that was only when she was tightly focused on something." Motioning towards Zulé with one hand, he continued, "If that _person_, and I use the term loosely, is correct, then when the Queen was using Aliza's crystal to torment me, her innate ability has been amplified somewhat. Whether this is a direct side effect of the Queen herself or the Queen's use of the Mindnet or something like it, I can't say."

Zulé listened and when everyone else was done talking, he said, "Now that you know some of what I know about the Queen herself, but not all, I will tell you why I can't be your double agent, though part of me, the part that remains of the organic being I once was would like nothing more than to help you flush the Queen out of an airlock."

Zachary spoke first, "And why is that?"

Zulé leaned back in his chair a little. "Every Agent and every Agent of the Black Armor, during their service has a subspace marker. This device is hardwired into the Agent shell. When an agent is killed or goes into stasis lock as I did when I ejected into hard vacuum, that marker ceases and the computers in the Queen's outposts relays this status update to the master computer in her palace. If an Agent tries to reenter any and I mean _any_ facility that is tied into this system, the control computer locks down everything in that facility, deletes all data _and_ triggers a virtually instantaneous reactor meltdown. The Queen learned the hard way that an Agent can be subverted and used as a remote probe. Incidents such as that have occurred in the past and she took steps to ensure that it couldn't happen again. If I go into a Queen controlled facility, without an identity lock bypass and escort by other Agents or Slaver Lords, the facility will be destroyed. Even if I had that bypass and escort, the computer would simply reboot the hardwired programs in my brain and I would turn back into Agent 11811 and cease to be Zulé. Either way, I lose what I have only just regained. At such time as the Queen is deposed or outright killed, and the master computer reprogrammed, I will be happy to assist you any way I can after that."

Niko considered what she'd just heard and then said, "So what your saying Zulé, is that after this subspace marker goes inactive, the master computer largely marks that particular Agent as 'Missing and presumed lost", until a reboot is performed?"

"Exactly, Lieutenant Niko." Zulé said.

Zachary spoke. "If we can't use you to get inside the Queen's fortress in order to get to her directly, what good are you to us now?"

If Zulé was bothered by Zachary's statement, he didn't show it when he spoke. "I may not be able to help get you in, but I _can_ help you to find where she'll go to ground next. After that, it's on you and the rest of the Galaxy Rangers."

Walsh said, "What do you mean exactly when you say 'Go to ground next?"

Zulé said, "Haven't you ever wondered just why you've never been able to capture the Queen? Yes, you've come close a time or two but otherwise; you've been fooled by her Slaver Lord apparition every time."

Walsh spoke again. "Now that you mention it; yes, we'd like to know why we've never been able to capture her."

The touch of humor in Zulé's voice was noticeable when he said, "You've never caught her because she moves herself and her pyschocrystals around every few months. Sometimes she's on Tortuna, sometimes in hyperspace. Other times she goes back to the homeworld in the Perseus Arm although the planet now is almost entirely taken up by factories. Raw material comes in from all over her realm and is made into fighters, capital ships, weapons and agent shells just waiting for a brain to be implanted. I can tell you where she'll be in approximately two of your months. Surprisingly she has few places she goes where she feels anywhere remotely safe."

Zachary spoke again, "Where will she be in two months?"

Zulé said, "In two months she will be in transit to the homeworld. Her ship is manned entirely by Agents, both Black Armor, regular and Slaver Lords. I can instruct you on how to sensor mask your approach to her ship, dock and go aboard. Naturally, she travels with a battle group when she does this. A small infiltration team should be able to board her transport if a large enough distraction can be made to allow you to get in close to her ship. After that, you're on your own. If you can get to her and capture her, you will win the day and the war. The approach will _not_ be easy though."

Walsh said, "You let us worry about the approach. So long as the information you provide is accurate, then we can end this destructive conflict and bring law and order back to the galaxy at large. If, however, you betray us with false information, asylum or no, I will personally see to it that you are dismantled and your parts scattered to the corners of the League, making sure to leave your brain with enough functionality to allow you to contemplate your folly in betraying us. Have I made myself clear Mister Zulé?"

Zulé inclined his head fractionally and said, "As crystal, Commander, to borrow another one of your human phrases."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11**

After Zulé had been taken back to his cell, Zach, badge back in place, Niko, Waldo and Zozo took the meeting to Walsh's office and met up with Gooseman there.

As Goose was being brought up to speed, Walsh sat at his desk.

Goose started out by saying, "Two months isn't a whole hell of a lot of time to organize a battle group of our own, keeping it a secret the whole time. Even if we manage to pull it all together in time, the butcher's bill for this operation will _not_ be cheap. You have to know that Commander."

Zachary spoke next. "I'll head up the infiltration team Commander, but I'll need to recall Ranger Hartford from his assignment on Tarkon, and I swore to my son William that I'd take him with me on any mission that stood a chance of recovering his mother's crystal. If what that _person_ says is true, that the Queen takes all of her strongest crystals with her when she moves around, then Aliza's crystal has _got_ to be there."

Walsh said, "I won't even consider sending anyone but you to lead this mission Zachary simply because I know you'd go anyway and busting you down to a Series 1 ranger and sending you to the stockade would be a waste of material. As to your son going, that may be a possibility but as for Ranger Hartford, there's been a complication."

Niko spoke this time, "What kind of complication? If you don't mind my asking that is Commander."

Walsh said, "Better than trying to explain it to you all, I'll let you see his latest status report."

Manipulating the controls on his desk, a screen emerged from behind a decorative painting on one wall. It flickered a moment then an image of Doc Hartford came on.

"_This is Ranger Walter 'Doc' Hartford calling from Tarkon with my next status report. The analysis of the Heart of Tarkon goes as slowly as ever but my tweekers and I feel we're beginning to make progress now. I should have more to report on that matter by this time next year. This may seem like a long time but you have to remember the Heart of Tarkon was old when humanity first stood upright and looked into the night sky. Also, Maya's father has passed away just recently and since Maya is the Heir Apparent, she's declared a year of mourning for the kingdom in memory of the old king. After the year of mourning ends, she will be officially installed as the Queen of Tarkon and she asked me if I'll be her consort. I guess that means I'm getting married! Who'd of thought that day would ever come? At any rate, after Maya's coronation and our marriage, I should be able to simply ask the Heart itself all I need to know and it should answer since its primary program requires it to answer all direct queries from the crown or its designated alternate. With this change in my status, I don't know if I'll have to resign from the Galaxy Rangers or what. Maya and I will discuss that at length at some point soon I'd imagine. I guess that about covers all the pertinent points for now. This is Ranger Hartford signing off."_

The screen went blank and retracted back into the wall. After it did, Walsh looked around before speaking. "This report is relevant in that Ranger Hartford was originally offered the Series 5 implant in exchange for five years of service to the Galaxy Rangers. Having long since fulfilled his commitment he has been agreeing to year by year extensions since that time and this operation comes just as he's due to extend again, if he so wishes. His change in status to Consort effectively ends any obligation to the Rangers. He could resign and there's nothing we can do about it. Involuntary contract extensions haven't been practiced for almost as long as Earth has been a member of the League of Planets and all of its various military branches were absorbed into the framework of B.E.T.A. Opinions anyone?"

The three looked at each other, seemingly speaking to each other without words, before Niko spoke for them all. "We were all Doc's friends before we even graduated from the Ranger Academy, let alone becoming Series 5 Rangers and being posted to the same team. On a personal note, I think it's safe to say that we're all happy for him and Maya both and it's not our place to venture an opinion on his choice of marriage partners."

Zachary said, "Niko's right. All the more so now I'll have to ask Doc if he'll participate. If I order him to, I know he'd be on the next Ranger yacht back to B.E.T.A. but duty or no, it's not fair or right to ask him to risk giving up Maya now that he's found her; and it sounds as though he may still be our best bet to understanding the Heart of Tarkon. I'll call him later today and ask. Just in case, I'll need to see the files on the top three computer psychoanalysts currently at B.E.T.A. While another Series 5 would be best, I'll take what I can get.

Walsh said, "You'll have them by noon today Zachary. I'll start things moving from my end and get the World Federation to authorize the formation of a battle group for this mission. With the information that Mister Zulé has already given us and the promise of more to come, I don't imagine there'll be too much difficulty getting the Laredo to spearhead this." Turning to Waldo and Zozo just then, Walsh said, "Please contact your respective governments and arrange for a series of diversions along as much of the border between the League of Planets and the Queen of the Crown as can be managed. These diversions will help keep the Queen's information and analysis assets too busy to notice what B.E.T.A. will be doing.

Waldo and Zozo both nodded and said, "Right away Commander Walsh."

After the two ambassadors had left, Walsh looked at Gooseman and said, "You're very quiet Shane. What are your thoughts on this?"

Goose shrugged and said, "I'll follow Zachary to the gates of hell, you know that Commander. While I'll admit to not trusting the former agent, Niko vouches for him and that's good enough for me. As to Doc and his situation, I'm sure he'll do whatever's right for him and I wish him only the best whatever he decides.

Walsh nodded and said, "Very well then. Now that we have a plan, let's be about it shall we?"

Everyone acknowledged their orders but before they left, Walsh said, "One last thing Rangers. I have decided that due to the extreme sensitivity of the information that Zulé has given us and due to the very real possibility of ending the war with the Queen with a successful mission outcome, I am giving all of you in this room a direct order _not_ to reveal the true nature of the Agents to _anyone_ for any reason. There will be no selective hearing loss, no wiggle room to interpret this order any other way than how I intend it. Have I made myself completely understood?"

In near unison, Zach, Niko and Shane all came to attention, saluted and said, "Aye-aye sir", and left the room.

When they were all gone, Walsh turned slowly in his seat and looked out the window of his office and into the clear, cloudless blue sky just beyond the single inch of transparent aluminum. Feeling more than a little dirty from his hypocrisy he said, "May the Gods of space and time forgive me my subterfuge". Turning back to his desk, he began preparing a letter to the Board of Leaders.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 12**

Walter "Doc" Hartford was in his personal Ranger Interceptor. He'd just entered hyperspace when his ship's A.I., "Gizmo" came onscreen. "Doc, you're strangely quiet today. My sensors indicate that your blood pressure is slightly down while your respiration is slightly elevated. Is anything the matter?"

Doc was lost in thought, thinking back to his parting with Maya only a short time ago. Originally, he'd intended to leave a video message for Maya, knowing how busy she was in making the transition from Princess to Queen. When Maya was waiting for him on the launch pad, Doc knew that he'd underestimated her.

"_Zach asked me to help him Maya. I _have_ to go. Can you understand? It's not fair to you or to me really, having just finally realized how much I love you and how much I need you in my life. But I have to. Zach, Niko, Goose . . . they need me for this mission. More than they've ever needed me before. I always used to joke about my fine breeding and cultured background and how the World Federation made a mistake in making me a Galaxy Ranger in the first place, but when it comes down to it, I love my job and my teammates."_

_Maya stood there, naturally stoic, listening. Doc could see the veritable army of aides that had taken to following her ever since her Father's funeral, standing in the background, eager to get her back to Affairs of State. When she spoke, it was softly, "Walter, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I know that you are loyal to your friends above all else, and that is just one of the many things I love about you. I am not here to stop you or to change your mind, but to instead give my blessing, if you'll have it."_

_Doc said, "I can't think of a better send off than that Maya. I should only be gone for a couple of months, no more than four at most. This will be my last mission as a Galaxy Ranger. When I get back I'll resign and dedicate myself to learning whatever is required of me to be your Consort."_

_Maya shook her head before speaking. "You don't have to do that unless you really want to, but we can discuss it at length when you return. For now, take a hold of my Staff of Power." Holding out her staff in one hand, Doc put one hand on it and interlaced the fingers of his free hand with Maya's. Stepping close to him she said solemnly, "Walter Hartford, do you swear to keep yourself safe and return to me?"_

_Doc answered in the same tone of voice, "I do so swear it Maya."_

_Feeling a slight tingle, almost as if a circuit had been completed between him and Maya, with the Staff of Power acting as a conduit, the voice of the staff said simply, "It is done."_

_Maya stepped closer to Doc, staff in one hand, the other keeping hold of Doc's and said, "Kiss me."_

_After Doc did, she stepped back and said, "We are one in word now, you and I Walter. Upon your return, our union will become deed and a ceremony held so that the People may meet their Queen's Consort. Until that time, know then that you carry a piece of my soul within you and yours with me. Go now and return when you're ready. I will wait, for a time. If you don't return to me, I'll find you, whatever it takes. Up to and including walking into the Queen of the Crown's throne room at the head of an army and running her through with my staff."_

_Maya turned on her heel and strode away, every inch the Queen that she had become. Doc shivered and resolved never to get Maya angry with him._

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Doc focused his attention on Gizmo's onscreen avatar. "I'm sorry Gizmo . . . did you say something?"

Gizmo reiterated his question. Doc said, "I'll be fine Gizmo old buddy, thanks for the concern. As soon as we get in range of a League transponder, get a data-dump to bring me up to speed on things that I've missed while I've been on Tarkon. Okay?"

Gizmo said, "Sure thing Doc. How about a game of chess while we travel? It's still going to be a while until we get close enough for me to get the data you want. What do you say?"

Doc smiled and said, "Rack 'em up my tweeker and get ready to lose. The doctor will now operate."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13**

The ensuing eight weeks after the series of revelations about the Queen and her origins was a whirlwind of activity; training, equipping and contingency planning. Diversionary attacks along several different fronts of space between the Queen's territory and that of the League of Planets from several of its members helped to shift and dilute the Queen's information gathering abilities away from Earth and away from the observable patterns of large ship movements that would hint at the existence of the fleet from B.E.T.A.

Zach, his son William, Niko, Doc and Shane had just docked with the Battle Cruiser Laredo and jumped to hyperspace. The Laredo's sister ships, the Boot Hill and the OK Corral were already on station finishing their own preparations. The Laredo, as the older ship of the line had just gotten out of space dock for refit, and had the latest hyperdrive that would see it pass the Queen's fleet in transit to the coordinates for the attack. The OK Corral and Boot Hill respectively were newer and already had the new hyperdrive laid into their keels during construction.

Shortly after coming aboard, Zach was invited to the Captain's Table in the wardroom. Gregory Boyington, skipper of the Laredo, and Zach were eating dinner.

"Greg, be honest with me. What do you think our chances are?" Zach asked.

Boyington finished his bite of food with a sip of water before answering. "I'd like to say it'll be a turkey shoot but that would be unrealistic in the extreme. In terms of space craft, you already know that the Laredo, Boot Hill and the OK Corral will be the largest assets on scene. The Laredo has ten squadrons of fighters at twelve ships per squadron. The Boot Hill and the OK Corral are both newer and larger than the Laredo and both ships carry fifteen squadrons, all with twelve ships per squadron. That's a total of 480 one-person fighters between the three. Keep in mind though that at least one squadron has to stay with their ship to act as a fighter screen to help protect them. Vessels that fall into the category of 'capital' ships don't usually have the best point defense, that's what the fighters are for. Also, we'll have ten missile cruisers, two to flank each carrier and four for general support. Don't ask me how or why, but B.E.T.A. went ahead and built two genuine space battleships, the Iwo Jima and the Yamato. Complete with deck guns and everything for long range fire support. Both of those monsters can reach out and accurately hit their targets at a maximum range of five megameters."

Zachary became contemplative for a moment. "I recognize the name Iwo Jima from my history text at the Academy for sure, but something about that other name, the Yamato, rings a bell for some reason." A moment later, he snapped his fingers and said, "Now I remember. When Little Zach and Jessica were still kids, they used to watch a program from the entertainment archives . . . something about a, what was it? A battleship, space ship, space cruiser . . . something like that and it was called the Yamato. Wasn't that a real ship at one time as well?"

Boyington chuckled lightly before answering. "You'd be right on all counts. There _was_ a real water-going battleship named Yamato back in the same war that my granddad Pappy Boyington fought in and there was an entertainment show, and movie, named after it but it was science fiction. Structurally speaking, the Iwo Jima and the Yamato are sister ships of the battleship class, same as the Boot Hill and the OK Corral are sisters of the carrier class, but that's about the extent of it. I ended up researching the real battleship Yamato while formulating the strategy for this mission. Our ships don't have very much in common with either the real Yamato or its fictional counterpart, but it made for some interesting research all the same. At any rate, before we got off on that tangent, I was about to say that the closer their target, the better hit to miss ratio; they can hole a capital ship through and through at one megameter, and each have a veritable porcupine of point defense systems and won't need fighter coverage. We'll also have twenty destroyers and the ten missile cruisers I already mentioned scattered about for this furball we're about to fly into. That makes for 5 capital class ships, 30 medium class ships, plus the fighters. All total we've got 515 spacecraft. More ships than I've ever seen in one place, let alone tried to command. Thankfully, the skippers aboard the Boot and the Corral will be taking on equal portions of this armada so that I won't have to try and oversee everything myself. Even with all this hardware, I honestly don't know what to expect. If Commander Walsh's pet Agent was correct, we'll be facing at least ten, maybe as many as twenty Slaver Battle Cruisers, each with their own complements of fighters plus any support vessels they may have. Don't forget either that if we get too close to the Slavers, they can open up on us with their turbolasers and deliver a good old fashioned broadside attack. B.E.T.A. has had the edge in ship to ship combat until now because we don't usually clump together and our fighters are faster and we hope, more maneuverable than Slaver ones but just the same, there's going to be a very real risk of friendly fire casualties regardless of how carefully our gunners aim. A time like this makes me say to myself, 'why oh why didn't I listen to you and go into the Rangers?'

Zach sat back in his seat and laughed before speaking. "Because you love ships, and the command of said ships, and everything that goes with it and you know it Greg! I've always been more of an old fashioned Army mentality while you've always been more Navy oriented. You'd have gone crazy if you'd gone into the Rangers with me. To borrow a phrase from one of my wife's favorite old movies, 'Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny. All else is a waste of material.' Upon mention of his wife, Zach fell silent.

Gregory Boyington watched his oldest friend for a moment. "Don't worry about Aliza. You'll get her back, I know it; and when you do, I'll throw a party for the both of you that you'll never forget."

Zach smiled, "I just may hold you to that Greg."

It was Greg's turn to laugh. When he stopped he said, "I ever tell you the family history about my name, Zach?"

Zach shook his head, "Now that you mention it, no, you haven't."

Greg continued, "I was named for a grandfather on my dad's side of the family, I forget how many 'greats' are attached. His name too was Gregory Boyington. He was a Marine Corps. fighter pilot, went by the handle of 'Pappy' because he ran his command like one big family. Anyway, during World War II, he commanded a squadron of planes that helped the Allied forces in their 'island hopping' campaign towards Japan. He personally shot down 26 enemy aircraft during his tour of duty. Then as now, the distinction of 'ace' comes from having five confirmed kills in air-to-air combat."

Zach couldn't help it when his jaw dropped a little.

Greg said, "That's right, he was an 'ace' five times over. He won the highest military award of the time, the Medal of Honor, for 'extraordinary heroism and extreme devotion to duty'. His Medal of Honor as well as all his other awards sits on my mantle at home in its shadow box so that I'll never forget. I've studied all his personal notes and journals growing up. From all that I've read, he took great care of his people, and even better care of his friends. You'll get a party that makes your bachelor party look like a teetotaler's convention; all the more so as that this will be my last fight Zach."

Zach got a slightly confused look on his face, but before he could ask, Greg said, "The Laredo is being decommissioned as a line-of-battle vessel and being turned into a training ship after this. It's the oldest ship that B.E.T.A. has right now. It almost didn't get its latest refit, but I called in all the favors I'd accumulated over the years and got the Laredo refit one last time. I've been offered a Commodore's star if I stay on and run it, but I haven't decided just yet. I'm only a brevet Admiral for the duration of this mission because of my time in service and the number of ships in it. It's been a good run I've had, with only a few regrets, but I'll decide one way or the other after it's all over."

The two old friends continued to reminisce for another hour before retiring to their respective cabins for the night.

**Six hours later**

The Laredo, Boot Hill and OK Corral were in position as were all support vessels. Almost on cue, the Queen's fleet emerged from hyperspace for its navigation check. Twenty Slaver Battle Cruisers were in a standard encapsulation formation around an acorn shaped vessel in the center of it all.

The moment the ships appeared, Brevet Admiral Boyington on the Laredo said over the 1-MC, the master communications channel, "All fighters launch when ready! Detail one squadron apiece to act as fighter cover for your carrier. All ships . . . general quarters, general quarters! Secure all compartments, dog down all hatches! Energy shields to full as soon as fighters are away! All fire is to avoid the vessel in the center of the enemy formation! Engage at will all other hostile vessels."

Space was awash with spacecraft as fighters left their bays. Ship after ship, squadron after squadron; missile ships loaded all tubes and prepared to open fire as soon as optimum range was achieved, battleships oriented their deck guns and opened fire at maximum range.

Surprise was total and battle was joined.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 14**

**Aboard the Slaver Command & Control Ship**

Number 73, one of the oldest Agents of the Black Armor, the commander of the Slaver escort fleet sat in his command chair and began firing off orders in quick succession. "Shields up and launch fighters as soon as the prows open far enough to allow it! All ships break formation and close to energy range as quickly as possible! Cruisers 5 through 8 are to stay in flanking positions around her Majesty's flagship. We must protect the Queen at all costs!"

Moments after the orders were given, the Queen of the Crown herself came onscreen. In her haughty and slightly pinched voice she said, "Report Captain! What precisely is going on!"

The Captain looked to his sovereign and said, "My Queen, we appear to have stumbled into an ambush set by those meat sacks, the Galaxy Rangers. I recognize the battle cruiser Laredo in the enemy formation ahead. We are deploying fighters as we speak and breaking formation so as to present several smaller targets instead of one big one. I've already detailed cruisers to protect your Highness. As soon as an open avenue to hyperspace presents itself, your ship and your escorts will jump away."

Just then, a sensor technician said, "Captain, I've just finished analyzing the enemy formation. There are 3 carriers plus their respective complements of fighters, 10 smaller missile ships, 20 destroyers and 2 ships of an unknown configuration with the biggest guns we've ever encountered! Wait one . . . the computer has just finished scanning those two and it says that they're called battleships. A class of warship with the greatest number of weapons and the heaviest armor; we don't have anything like it in our arsenal nor can we do more than scratch its paint. They've just destroyed cruiser 17 from . . . just shy of 5 megameters distance!"

The captain turned to face his Queen, "My Queen, this communication must end. I will do everything in my power to see that you get away."

Nodding her head regally, the Queen said, "Serve me well and annihilate the enemy!"

"Yes my Queen," he said simply and closed the channel.

**En route to target**

Aboard an Assault Pod, Zach, his son William, Niko, Shane, Doc and seven combat seasoned space marines rode, each loaded to bear with hand guns, shotguns, grenades and reloads for all their weapons. Goose, as the best pilot, was at the controls while Niko was second seat having enclosed the ship with a psychic globe to act as an early warning system. Their ship had been stripped down to little more than engines, fuel cells and an atmospheric shell, all in the name of speed; its occupants all wore standard issue Galaxy Ranger space suits with fully loaded combat harnesses. The small cloaking device built by Q-ball to the exacting specifications of Zulé rendered their ship invisible to everything but the Mark-1 eyeball. Flying faster than Goose had ever thought possible made dodging both friends and foes difficult in the extreme. More so because they couldn't even broadcast an IFF signal in order to avoid detection by enemy sensors.

Shane gritted his teeth and involuntarily growled as he saw a flight element of four fighters from his own squadron get vaporized in the blink of an eye. "_Damn it all! I wish I was out there with them instead of in here! That was a rookie mistake! I taught my guys better than that!" _he said to himself.

For herself, Niko could only spare a moment as she empathically felt all of the deaths going on in space around her but remained focused on the task at hand of helping Shane navigate this lightfight to end all lightfights.

Doc kept his eyes closed and focused on Maya's beautiful face in his mind's eye so as not to scream out as another one of Goose's insane maneuvers left him feeling like his stomach had been left behind in the Laredo's launch bay. After the moment of gut wrenching nausea was gone, Doc couldn't help himself when he said, "I'd forgotten how much I _hate_ space travel!"

Zach and his son William locked eyes with each other . . . momentarily looking as if they would speak to the other then just smiling slightly and nodding, then resuming their game faces.

The seven remaining combat veterans kept their thoughts to themselves and prepared for the mission ahead, each of them having long since made their own mental list of grievances that they were about to put "paid to" to every member of the Queen's forces that got in their crosshairs.

The flight felt like forever; but in reality was only a few minutes long. All too soon a dull thump was felt through the deck plating as Shane's voice came over the tactical frequency, "Touchdown boys and girls, last stop, everybody off! I've set the ship's A.I. to disconnect from the breaching pod and return to the Laredo after we disembark."

Zach released his crash restraints, stood up and looked around to his team before speaking. "Let's head 'em up and move 'em out!"

**Queen's Flagship Interior**

The squad of six Agents encircled one Slaver Lord in formation and was on its way to battle stations when a circular cut-out of plating one meter across and half a meter thick, fell out of the ceiling and crushed the Slaver Lord like a grape. Before any of the six could even so much as activate a comlink to report, Shane and two marines dropped through the hole, blasters in both hands, landed in the center of the squad and each took out two Agents apiece with headshots. The three moved out to form a perimeter as the remaining nine members of their own team joined them moments later.

Zach pointed to Shane and using numbers instead of names said, "Two, take ten through twelve and go for main engineering. Disable the hyperdrive, just as we planned." Pointing to Doc, he said, "Three, take seven through nine and go for the main computer. Shut down all internal defenses and try to remote override the weapons on as many other ships as you can. I'll take the rest and go for the Queen. Avoid as many fights as you can. Take and hold your objectives for as long as possible. If we're successful, we can meet up in the throne room; if not, plant your explosives, get to the nearest escape pods and get the hell out." In the otherwise featureless spacesuits they wore, everyone just gave thumbs up and took off on their specific objectives.

By intention, the breeching pod had set down as close to the main computer center as possible, the thought being that if the main computer could be taken first, it would only facilitate the other strike groups' missions. Doc and his team of three marines got to the entrance after encountering only one wandering fire team of four Agents. Like wraiths, Doc's team pounced from the shadows. One thrust to the back of the neck from the mono-molecular blades each person carried made short work by severing what on a human would've been the brain stem. Doc, alone of the four, knew that the croaking gargle of each Agent's death was genuine and not a simulated reaction, but kept it to himself, as he'd been ordered to. Tapping his badge, Codebreaker emerged from the CDU and into the door control panel. Looking to each marine in turn and seeing each one nod in readiness, Doc whispered, "Now Codebreaker!"

A half second later, the door opened and the four entered the main computer center guns blazing, each one having been assigned a specific sector of the room to clear of Agents and/or Slaver Lords. Doc dropped two Agents with one shot from the pistols he held in each hand and then fired both in unison at the Slaver Lord in his sector. Right on the crystal, both energy beams hit. The Slaver Lord dissolved as its crystal shattered. One of the marines went down with a shot through his visor from an Agent of the Black Armor, who was in turn dropped by another marine who'd just cleared his sector of Agents. The last marine, his weapon having a dud for a power cell, took up his mono-molecular blade again. Vaulting over a control console to stand before two Agents and a Lord, he took one Agent across the throat with a reverse grip, flipped the blade point first and took the other, a Black Armor, between the eyes, pulled the blade out, changed hands and spun on the ball of one foot while flipping the knife back into a reverse grip and taking the Slaver Lord in the crystal. Like the one that Doc had gunned down, the crystal shattered and the Slaver Lord dissolved.

While one marine checked on the downed man, the other secured the door when ordered by Doc. For his part, Doc took the recently vacated seat at the console, tapped his badge again and said, "All tweekers on deck! The Doctor will operate and I need all of you to assist with a mega-king size lobotomy. Pathfinder, you find the correct pathways to the higher functions. Searchlight, go to work and pull a full data-dump from the mainframe. Lifeline, be sure to keep life support systems going. Codebreaker, you need to tell the computer to shut down all anti-intruder measures. Firefly, I want you to try and send a remote signal to all the other Slaver vessels to shut down their weapons systems. If that's too much, just cause a distraction to keep the Queen's watchdog programs busy while everyone works."

Like kids in a candy store, each independent program dove into the console with a high pitched, vocal war cry to fit their individual personalities.

The marine who'd checked on his fallen comrade came over to Doc and said, "Eight is dead sir, but we got all of them before they could raise an alarm; your orders sir?"

Doc looked up from the console a moment and said, "While seven watches the hatch, you start planting the explosives just in case we have to leave in a hurry. Use eight's when yours are gone and seven's too. I'm sorry about eight but we still have a job to do. When you're done, get eight ready to go. No one gets left behind." The marine straightened up a little more and didn't bother to hide the appreciative look in his eye and went to work as Doc went back to his hacking.

He was able to break the first two layers of encryption in only a few seconds, but started encountering counter-measures on the third. Firefly came to the cyber-rescue and drew off the watchdog programs long enough for Doc to disable them completely by the fourth layer. After that, Doc was in to the higher functions and started issuing new orders to the computer as fast as his hands could move over the control surface membrane. Speaking to himself as he worked, he said, "Got you now! Anti-intruder systems . . . offline, internal sensors . . . offline, internal communications . . . offline, main bridge . . . locked out! Darn I'm good! Now to lock this thing down so tight only a space dock or yours truly can open it back up." Moments later, he sat back in his seat and said in a slightly self satisfied tone, "The Doctor has operated!"

**Main Bridge, Queen's Flagship**

The technician's control console at main operations went dark. "What the . . ." Turning to the Captain, an Agent of the Black Armor who'd long since forgotten his own number, he'd held command for so long, and said, "Captain, my controls have just been locked out! I thought I saw a sensor reading for intruder alert but then nothing!" A moment later a different alarm sounded from the console and the technician said, "Passive sensors just indicated that we've lost the bridge deflectors!"

The Captain looked up from the arm of his control chair where he'd been monitoring the sensor feed from the Operations console and said, "Intensify forward firepower, I don't want anything to get through! Have you tried manual override? System restarts?"

Just as the technician nodded yes to every question, the Captain looked out the main view port and saw a Ranger Interceptor line up for a strafing run on the Bridge. Standing up from his seat, he said, "Too late . . . long live the Queen of the Crown!"

The Interceptor pilot pulled the trigger on his control yoke and walked a series of laser blasts up the hull and into the Bridge window. As he over flew his target, he saw the transparent steel of the window shatter. His sensor board showed several objects being flushed out into hard vacuum. He smiled and went hunting for another target.

**Queen's Throne Room**

The Queen of the Crown sat in her golden throne largely unconcerned with the battle raging in space around her. She was certain that her ship would jump to hyperspace any second now and take her safely on her way. So unconcerned with events around her, she'd decided to indulge her one vice, a small bowl of ice cream. She'd acquired the taste after her forces had captured the first Earth ship so many years before. Lifting the spoon to her mouth, she was just about to take her first bite when a hard shudder ran the length of the ship and threw her out of her seat, the bowl from her hand. The bowl shattered where it landed on the deck. Getting up from the deck she stormed back to her seat and activated the intercom, intent on verbally stripping the black armor from the agent who commanded her personal vessel. When the intercom didn't activate, even after multiple tries she felt worry for the first time in longer than she could remember.

Just then, one of the two Slaver Lords that was always in attendance to the Queen moved over by the door leading from the antechamber and said in its artificial voice, "Highness, the ship has been boarded by the Galaxy Rangers! They're on their way here!"

Looking up from the control panel on the arm of her throne, she said, "They wouldn't dare come here!" With a controlled explosion, the door leading to the antechamber collapsed into the room and smashed the Slaver Lord underneath it. The Queen turned to the doorway, fear and outrage openly on her face and yelled, "Who _dares_ to enter my sanctum sanctorum?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 15**

Goose wasn't as lucky as Doc. His team had managed to avoid two patrols, only to be pinned down at an unexpected security checkpoint just shy of Engineering. Goose and his team had managed to take the checkpoint and were huddled behind the control consoles with only one injury, a wound to one of his marine's shoulders. Fortunately, the laser blast cauterized the wound and stopped any bleeding that would have resulted had the wound been made by a physical projectile. Each marine was exercising highly disciplined fire only when a target presented itself. As a result, there were several dead or disabled Agents scattered across the deck and shards of three crystals from as many Slaver Lords. Goose had been forced to assume that the lack of an audible alarm was because Doc had taken the main computer, but all the same, he knew that the mission was exposed by now but simply focused on his end of it.

He growled out, "Ten, ammo check! How you guys doing?"

Ten performed the kind of check on his gear and his buddies' gear that only a well seasoned combat veteran could manage while taking fire and said, "My blasters have one power cell left each. My shotgun has only gone through one power cell because we're out of range to use 'em effectively. Eleven and twelve are pretty much the same. We've got all our grenades but we can't leave cover long enough to use 'em. Plus, we've all got our Semtex-7 charges still."

Growling again to himself, he made a decision. Handing all of his weapons over to ten he said, "On my mark, cover me!"

Ten knew full well that Goose was a Supertrooper but still couldn't stop himself from asking, "What are you going to do?"

Goose said, "Feel a lot of pain," and stood up in the line of fire.

The first shots to hit him were enough for his bio-defenses to activate. Tapping his badge to put those bio-defenses into overdrive, Goose's skin turned into reflective crystal that dispersed the bolts, but the pain was immense! Using the remains of the control console that he and his men had been using for cover as a springboard, Goose landed in front of the Agents that stood between him and Engineering. With a primal roar, Goose tapped his badge again once he was within arm's reach of the Agents. This time his physical structure changed into something rather squat, muscular, almost gorilla-like, and very, very pissed off. The first Agent unfortunate enough to meet up with Goose in this form quickly lost the use of both arms when Goose grabbed him by the wrists, put one foot against his chest plate and pulled. Both arms came off with only the slightest resistance. The stumps spat sparks from severed wiring and orange fluid as the remainder of the body was sent flying back into some of its fellow Agents screaming all the way. Using the arms as a bizarre cross between nunchaku and clubs, Goose laid into two more Agents like punching bags. One of the Agents' heads was nearly turned around 180° from a spinning hit, while the other one had both of his arms broken at the elbows when he tried to block. Another Agent made the mistake of grabbing the arms in an attempt to stop Goose from using them again. This attempt was circumvented when Goose spun like a top. The Agent, still holding onto the arms, was sent flying like a ball and chain down the corridor from whence he'd come. Flipping in midair, the Agent hit the wall headfirst and didn't get up. In a rare display of self-preservation, another Agent threw down his gun and tried to run away but Goose caught him by the shoulders, literally twisted his head off and threw the head like an old fashioned baseball and crushed the crystal of a fourth Slaver Lord down the hall.

By this time, Goose's marines had caught up with their field commander just as his bio-defenses shut down and he returned to normal. Visible burn marks and small holes from where the lasers he'd been hit with had penetrated his spacesuit top and helped to activate his bio-defenses marred the suit. The marine who answered to ten on this mission looked around at the damage and said, "Holy Ramuh on a raft! Remind me never to piss you off!"

Goose leaned against the bulkhead a moment and rubbed at the spots he'd been shot. His bio-defenses had healed the injuries but hadn't done a thing for the sting. As ten neared the door, Goose held up a hand to stop. When ten did, Goose looked as if he were sniffing the air before speaking, "Hold up ten. Stand back from the hatch will you? I got a bad feeling about what's on the other side."

Ten did as he was ordered just in time to avoid the metal-looking spike that was driven through the hatch where he'd been standing a moment before. The spike was withdrawn back through the metal. A moment later, two sets of fingers could be seen in the hole as they pulled the halves of the door completely out of the frame and were thrown aside. Standing in the door was the only other Supertrooper left unaccounted for, Killbane.

"Damn! I missed. Good to see you again Runt. Been a long time, ya know." He said.

Another growl escaped Goose. "Killbane! I thought a recognized your foul stench when I came aboard. What made you decide to come out from under your rock and on the Queen's flagship no less?"

Killbane laughed. "Still as smart-mouthed as ever eh Gooseman? To answer you, the Queen may have a head full of bad wiring but she pays great! I guess this is what they call fate or some such crap like that, ya know? Besides, I've been waitin' to tear you limb from limb for the part you played in turning all the rest of us Supers into mundanes. Guess we finally get to find out who's best."

Ten, eleven and twelve came up behind Goose, weapons drawn, ready to render an assist when Goose held up his hand again in the hand gesture of 'stop'. Stepping forward, he planted a thrust kick to Killbane's chest and sent him tumbling away. As he entered the compartment itself he said, "Guys, there's nothing you can do. This is my fight, not yours. Go ahead with the mission and get the hell out of here when you're done. Best bet; go for the nearest escape pod. Since this is the Queen's ship, there's sure to be some means of escape somewhere. Go!"

The three marines didn't even bother to try to voice an objection and moved into the room; shotguns drawn and spread out to clear the compartment of Agents. Moments later, the sound of shotguns being fired could be heard.

Killbane stood up and said, "Nice kick you got there Runt. I see you finally managed to put some snap into it. Try one of mine for size punk."

Putting action to word, Killbane did a spinning back kick and hit Goose square in the chest. Goose exhaled sharply at the moment of impact, allowing him to absorb the kick and dissipate its energy. All the same though, the kick did set him back a few steps.

Shaking off the impact, Goose said, "Is that all you got Killbane? My fiancé can kick harder than you on her worst day."

Killbane was taken aback a moment before forcing himself to laugh. "I'm just warming up Runt! Let's dance you and me."

Goose said, "Fine with me Killbane! Let's get it on!"

The two Supertroopers clashed, looking for the leverage to throw the other. Goose drove a knee into Killbane's midsection. With a stiff exhaled breath, Killbane's bio-defenses turned his midsection metal-like and proof against the second knee that Goose delivered. Gripping him around the leg before he could put it back on the deck, Killbane threw Goose up and back. Goose compensated by extending his support foot and catching Killbane under the chin as he turned the throw into a flip-kick. Feeling Killbane's jaw break through his boot, Goose landed on both feet a short distance away.

Killbane cried out in surprised pain as his head snapped back on his shoulders and a spray of blood and some teeth flew from his mouth. Looking back at Goose with new eyes, eyes that for the first time showed a trace of respect, Killbane spoke as soon as his bio-defenses put his jaw back together. "I'll admit you've gotten stronger since the last time we fought Runt, but you'll have to do a whole hell of a lot better than that if you wanna put me down for the count."

Goose smirked and said, "Put you down Killbane? Funny you should phrase it _quite_ that way because I'm not arresting you anymore . . . I'm going to bury you."

Killbane ran towards Goose with a roar on his lips and willed his arms to change into long blades, intent on literally cutting the runt down a notch or three, starting at the neck. Goose tapped his badge and willed his arms into claws. Catching both of Killbane's arms, Goose executed a throw that flipped Killbane ass over tea kettle and onto the deck. Lifting one foot Goose willed it into a solid block and tried to crush Killbane's skull. He yelled out, "Die you piece of crap!"

Killbane barely shifted his head out of the way in time but still felt the impact of Goose's foot with the deck. Willing his arms to return to normal, Killbane was able to free them from Goose's claws. Rolling himself back into a handstand before Goose could recover, Killbane latched both legs around Goose's head and flipped him over to land on his back this time. Goose grunted in pain as he landed. Following through, Killbane ended up in a top mount but before he could 'ground and pound', Goose bucked his hips and threw him off. Killbane rolled into a somersault and got back on his feet just as Goose performed a kippup and turned back around. "I don't care what it takes; I'm going to rip your fracking heart out Killbane." Goose said.

Killbane chuckled, "Sorry Runt, 'fraid I don't have one. That's just one of the reasons that _you_ will always be weaker than me! You got too much of our father in you. You know that, don't you?"

Goose was caught short a moment. "What the hell are you talking about Killbane? You and me don't _have_ fathers, or mothers for that matter. Most of us Supers were born in uterine replicators."

Killbane allowed another smug smile before answering. "In the traditional sense, you'd be right, but we _did_ have genetic donors. True, the material was purified before use, but it still came from person and persons largely unknown . . . except I _do_ know who our father was, genetically speaking that is. It was Walsh! And as soon as I'm done killing you, I'm gonna go pay the old man a visit!"

Goose wasn't about to give Killbane the satisfaction of knowing that he suspected it might be true, even for a moment. With a bestial roar, Shane closed in on Killbane. The two Supertroopers started trading punches in a flurry, neither one giving ground. When Goose at last saw an opening, he tapped his badge with his left hand and turned his right elbow into solid crystal. Catching Killbane across the face, Goose went through his target, spun on one foot and willed his left hand into more crystal and connected with a left spinning back knuckle that caused Killbane to spin completely around on both feet. As Goose finished his spin, he tapped his badge once more with his right hand and willed it into a crystalline spear hand. A meaty crunch was heard throughout the compartment as Goose's hand penetrated Killbane's chest cavity.

Killbane's eyes went wide at the moment of impact and he stood still; looking down at the runt's hand where it stuck. Looking up into Goose's eyes he said with a soft chuckle, "Whaddaya know? Guess I do have a heart."

Goose gripped the organ in question and tore it free of Killbane's chest, crushing it as he did. Killbane stepped back and chuckled again as his eye rolled up in his head and he keeled over, sightlessly staring up into infinity.

Dropping the crushed and shapeless mass of muscle tissue on the deck Goose said, "Yea, I guess you did Killbane."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 16**

Elsewhere, Zach and his team moved forward, towards the throne room as it had been marked on the map that Zulé had drawn up. Niko used her PSI ability as a compass to the Queen's chambers. This also helped avoid the larger groups of Agents, Black Armors and Slaver Lords. The marine that had accompanied them had moved too far ahead on point too quickly and been disintegrated for his trouble by an anti-intruder screen only moments before Doc's programs had disabled the internal security measures. Zach's son William had taken point then and dispatched an Agent with his mono-molecular blade just as the Agent emerged from an unmarked side door. Niko performed a scan on the room in question and found it to have several Agents inside. Zach took a fragmentation grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and threw it into the room. A few seconds later, a muffled thump-boom was heard and felt through the deck plates under foot.

The trio of Rangers moved ahead. Swiftly, silently, deadly where needed, unchallenged; until they finally came to an ostentatiously marked door. Niko said, "According to Zulé, just past this door, is the Queen's antechamber. Inside will be several Agents standing guard in such a way that they make an overwhelming crossfire; and at least one Slaver Lord. Past them is the Queen's throne room with one or two Slaver Lords in attendance at all times, but no guards."

William spoke first, "If we toss a couple of flash-bangs in first that should stun any Agents long enough for us to get in and put them down. I don't know what it'll do, if anything, to the Slaver Lord. As long as there's only one inside, it shouldn't be a problem . . . I hope."

Zach considered what his son said, nodded his head and said, "Sounds like a plan."

Taking the flash-bang from his belt and the one Niko handed him, Zach had William pull both pins while he held onto the safety handles or 'spoons' as they were still referred to in infantry circles. While Niko stood on one side of the doorframe and William the other, Zach nodded and Niko activated the door. The moment there was enough clearance; Zach threw both devices into the room beyond and stepped out of the doorway just as there was a criss-cross of laser fire from inside. The door closed automatically and seconds later, another thump-boom was heard and felt through the deck plates. The three Rangers entered the room to see every Agent inside involuntarily rubbing at their eyes and stumbling around. Drawing their shotguns, they proceeded to blast every one of them, effectively neutralizing the threat they represented. Standing off in a corner was a Slaver Lord observing everything, observing and reporting to its counterpart inside the throne room.

A face materialized in the space in front of the hood. The face was that of Lazarus Slade. In the same smug monotone he'd always used in every face-to-face encounter the Rangers had had with him, the image of Slade said, "At last the Galaxy Rangers have come to pay homage to my beloved Queen of the Crown. Are you prepared Galaxy Rangers? Will you at last take a knee to the sovereign of the known universe? Have you finally accepted the truth that the Queen is all powerful and can help you raise your very consciousness to the next level of evolution?"

In an uncharacteristic display of pique, Niko stepped forward, shotgun leveled at the Slaver Lord and said, "Shut the hell up!" and pulled the trigger. The blast struck the crystal dead on and shattered it instantly. Slade moaned loudly and disintegrated.

Turning to Zach and William who both had always seen Niko as the calm, cool, collected one of their number, she said, "I've _never_ liked that idiot!"

While Niko and William watched the door, Zach took the Semtex-7 from his combat harness, peeled it off the block in strips and started to roll it between his hands to form cylindrical lengths of explosive. Putting the strips together just inside the doorframe in the shape of a smaller door, Zach put the detonator caps in place and ordered everyone back. When everyone was in place, Zach took the control box from its pouch, armed the caps, flipped the cover up over the trigger and muttered, "Fire in the hole!"

With a directionally controlled blast, the door collapsed inwards and crushed something underneath as it fell. The three Rangers ran into the room, guns drawn.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 17**

**Throne Room**

"Who _dares_ to enter my sanctum sanctorum?" the Queen yelled.

From just outside of the smoking ruin of the door, a voice answered, "I do, your Highness."

Zach and Niko strode through the door, with William taking up a rear guard position. The Queen stood there a moment before speaking in a tone of voice even more haughty than usual. "Zachary Foxx and Niko, what an unpleasant surprise this is, and one, quite frankly, I never expected to see. You have obviously come here for a reason."

Zach leveled his shotgun at the Queen of the Crown, "Zathura, also known as the Queen of the Crown, I have a warrant for your arrest issued by the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Affairs and the League of Planets for crimes against sentience. Place your hands on your head but _do_ feel free to resist arrest and save the League the cost of a trial."

The Queen's eyes widened in outrage, "Where did you hear that name?"

Niko spoke this time, "Zulé sends his regards, Zathura."

The Queen made a dismissive gesture with a manicured hand at the two Rangers and said, "The artist? That brain still functions? Bah! At any rate, I don't recognize your authority to arrest anyone, let alone myself and Zathura is a name that no longer has any meaning for Me, nor will you address Me as such. I am the sovereign ruler of over 1000 worlds and will not be spoken to with such blatant disrespect. Kneel! Kneel before your Queen and swear fealty and I may let you live in your own body while you serve Me. Kneel before the Queen!"

Zach said, "Nothing doing, Zathura. You say you don't recognize my authority to arrest you? Well that works for me since I don't recognize your authority to rule over even one planetary system let alone a thousand. How about I just kill you now and be done with it?"

The Queen laughed out loud. "Kill me and you'll never find your precious wife's psychocrystal! Shall I tell you how she loved you Zachary? Shall I tell you her thoughts, her dreams . . . her . . . fantasies Zachary?" Running her hands down her hips and the body clinging suit she always wore under her cape, she licked her lips and moved her hips suggestively. She continued, "Shall I tell you everything she's ever told me about the times when you lay with her? How she would whimper as she . . ."

Zach could restrain himself no further as he walked up to the Queen on her dais and bellowed in her face, "BE QUIET!" and struck her with the back of his flesh hand across the face. The Queen uttered a short screech and was on the floor a moment later.

Looking up at Zach from where she lay on the floor, the Queen wiped away a trickle of blood from the broken skin on her cheek where she'd been struck. A dark welt was already rising. She chuckled before speaking, "At last the high and mighty Zachary Foxx shows his true colors! This is too good!" Getting back to her feet, the Queen chuckled again. "You're too late Zachary! I drained Aliza Foxx's crystal long ago and discarded it. Perhaps, if you spend the rest of your life looking, you might find it; or perhaps not. Even if you do, it's drained. Although if you catch the light _just_ right, you can still see an afterimage of her face in its facets. You can spend the rest of your life staring at it and wishing you could have saved her, wondering if there was something more you could've done to save her. The irony of this moment must be unspeakable!" The Queen burst out laughing, unable to control her twisted mirth.

Zach heard the gasp of his son from the door where he stood guard. To his mind it was the echo of the wail of a fourteen year old boy who'd lost his mother to the heartless monster that stood before him laughing, laughing with an almost maniacal glee over the pain she had caused. Something snapped deep within Zachary Foxx's psyche. Gritting his teeth, Zach touched his badge. As he felt the power from his implant flow into his arm and prepare to release, Zach growled, "Then I have nothing left to lose and no reason, no reason at all, to keep you alive, your Highness."

Stepping up to the Queen, he grabbed her by the back of the neck and threw a left uppercut into the Queen's abdomen. As the breath rushed out of her body, she grunted in pain and looked up into Zach's eyes, the eyes of a living dead man, and finally realized that she, the Queen of the Crown, the one time lowly archeologist with delusions of grandeur and a mad lust for power, had gone too far, pushed too hard. The Queen never even had time to scream as Zach's thunderbolt discharged at point blank range, at a severe upwards angle to enter her body from her abdomen, just behind the lower-most ribs, flash burn and evaporate the internal organs from the point of entry and exit from behind her head and exhaust itself against the ceiling of the throne room.

Niko felt a flash of white-hot rage, then bleak, bottomless despair from Zach. Even if she hadn't been telepathic, she could see the horror in Zach's eyes at what he'd just done, but was too shocked to speak as she stood there; trying to assimilate that Zachary Foxx, her friend, sometime mentor and fellow Galaxy Ranger had just executed the Queen of the Crown. His son William stood at the door, wiping the tears from his eyes and trying hard not to shout out in glee.

Dropping the corpse of the Queen, Zach stood there. Too drained to speak out loud, he whispered to himself, _"What have I done?"_ Taking off his helmet, he dropped it to the floor and using one hand to hold himself up on the throne itself, bent over behind it and vomited loudly in the still of the throne room. Straightening up, he wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, spat a couple of times and then sat down in the throne itself and activated his wrist-com.

**Elsewhere in the known galaxy**

Slaver Lords across the galaxy, on every planet, aboard every ship, at every installation, screamed out loud, a bizarre sound part organic and part machine. Everywhere, simultaneously, every Slaver Lord put its hands to its head and then evaporated; the psychocrystals that gave them life clattering to the ground to rest atop the robes the Lords wore. Agents both regular and black armor, stood around dumbfounded, unable to speak or move at first. Then, in a rush, they all ran for the nearest control panel with access to an outside communication channel, desperate for instruction, desperate and unable to think of anything else at that exact moment.


	19. Chapter 19

**Throne Room, Queen's Flagship**

Rapidly forming a plan, Zach called Doc on his wrist-com and said, "Doc, clear the channels on the main communication array and boost their output to maximum. I have an announcement to make."

Doc said, "Will do." The sound of his fingers moving across the control membrane could be heard over the channel. When Doc spoke again he said, "Okay Major, you're on in 5 . . . 4 . . . 3. . . 2 . . . 1."

As the countdown sounded, he cleared his throat and spat out the last of the vomitus. Zach said, "To all Crown forces. This is Major Zachary Foxx, late of the Galaxy Rangers. The Queen is dead. On my homeworld, there is a saying, a very old saying, 'You keep what you kill.' To that end, effective immediately, _I_ am taking her place as Emperor Zachariah the First. All Crown forces are hereby ordered to stand down, I say again, stand down all weapons, weapons systems and activities. All Agents of the Black Armor will take command of your individual areas and surrender your forces to the nearest League of Planets world or B.E.T.A. facility. The war is over. Reparations will be made, with interest, to all captive populations or their designated ally. That is all at this time."

When the channel closed, Zach turned his attention to Niko who'd been standing in the same place the whole time. She started to say, "Zach . . . how could you? How could you murder her? She was done. No matter her bluff and bluster, she was as good as ours. This wasn't the plan and you damn well know it!"

Zach let her stand there for a moment longer before speaking. "Are you done yet Lieutenant?" When she numbly nodded, he continued, "I don't have to explain myself to you Niko but I will out of respect for you. I wasn't even aware of killing the Queen until it was done. Besides, this is just temporary. I'm taking over just so that there's no more confusion than is strictly necessary. After it's been confirmed that all Crown forces have surrendered, a provisional government will be formed, charged with the release of any and all prisoners of the Crown and reparations started, though that will likely take decades to complete. In the highly unlikely but still possible chance that any psychocrystals can be reunited with the host body, those people can be returned to their loved ones or at least repatriated to their homeworld of origin. After that's all said and done, I will abdicate the throne and surrender myself to B.E.T.A. for disciplinary action."

Niko nodded again and then physically distanced herself from Zach. A moment later, Gooseman walked in with his team. The Marines took up sentry positions at the door when asked to by William who wandered off. Taking in the scene, Goose said, "Way to go Zach or should I say Emperor Zachariah. Doc is still in the computer center making sure no one tries to undo what he did and there's a black armor requesting an audience with you, your Highnessness."

Zach said, "Don't you _even_ 'your Highnessness' me Gooseman. I'm still Zach to you and don't you forget it!"

Goose laughed a little before saying, "Whatever you say Zach. There's no time to discuss this in committee."

Zach answered back, "I am not a committee!"

Goose laughed again before walking over to where Niko stood, but still in a position to draw his weapon and cover Zach if needed. A moment later an Agent of the Black Armor came in, cape billowing out behind him. He came to the foot of the dais, took a knee, bowed his head and said, "Emperor Zachariah, I am Agent of the Black 1138. As you commanded, all but a few of your forces have ceased hostilities. We're still taking in reports now but should have a firm count for you by the end of the day, ship's time."

Mimicking a posture on the throne that he'd seen the Queen use in her communications many times before, he said, "And you know this how?"

The Black Armor said, "Your retainer, the one known as Doc kept the priority channel open after your announcement. Even now he monitors it from the main computer to ensure compliance with your mandate my liege."

Zach looked on and said, "B.E.T.A. knows the truth about the Agents, 1138, yet you seem undisturbed by the change of command or the fact that the mortal remains of your Queen are still at my feet."

A slight tremor shook the Black Armor's frame where he knelt. "The former Queen was looked upon as a god, Emperor Zachariah. Clearly, if you were able to kill a god with but one of your mighty thunderbolts, then it behooves us all to serve you even more diligently." Pointing to the corpse, 1138 said, "Though the former Queen would never have openly admitted it, she did allow for the possibility that she might be replaced one day. The hardwired programming of every Agent, regular and Black Armor like myself, clearly states that the one who openly declares for the throne after killing the previous occupant, is to be regarded as the new Sovereign, be they king, queen, emperor or empress since only the strongest can or should rule. You killed the Queen, therefore you are the strongest."

Zach sat back in the throne for a moment before leaning forward in the seat again and saying, "Logical 1138. But you say all but a few of my forces of ceased hostilities. Which ones haven't?"

1138 looked up and said, "Before I left the Auxiliary Bridge to come here, only number 73, on the Command and Control Ship of this escort fleet was still fighting, and a few holdouts elsewhere. Those holdouts should have been removed from command by now by their subordinates. 73 has his ship as yet, and his troops, it is widely believed, were reprogrammed to by loyal to him first, the Queen second. He's one of the oldest Agents of the Black Armor."

Zach said, "Very well 1138. For my next official act as Emperor, you and one soldier of your choosing will accompany Sergeant Gooseman and one man of his choosing." Prodding the corpse on the floor with a foot, Zachary continued, "Take this and vaporize it. Make sure to have a full audio/visual record of doing so. There will be _no _possibility of rumor or hearsay that the former Queen still lives. When you're done with that return to the Auxiliary Bridge and resume your duties. _You_ are in command of this escort fleet now 1138."

1138 said, "Thank you my Lord. I will not fail you." Getting to his feet he left the room with a swirl of his cape as the soldier of his choosing and the one of Goose's each picked up an arm of the body of the Queen and dragged it out of the room, Goose and 1138 close behind.

Turning on his wrist-com again, Zach called Doc again. When Doc's face came onscreen, Zach said, "Doc, get me number 73 on communications right now. His is the only ship left fighting."

Doc said, "You want it Zach, you got it."

A moment later, the main communication screen in the throne room activated. Turning in the throne to face it, Zach saw another Agent of the Black came onscreen. He faced the visual pick-up from his end and said, "What do you want meat-sack?"

Zach said, "You will stand down immediately 73 or be destroyed. It's your choice but I warn you not to underestimate my resolve in this. Live or die. Decide."

Though 73 didn't have a face with which to display emotion, the sneer in his voice was unmistakable. "I'll take you with me meat-sack. This communication is over." With a gesture, the display faded.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 19**

**Laredo, Main Bridge**

The Bridge of the Laredo was filled with the smoke of destroyed consoles, the sickly sweet scent of scorched flesh and the astringent odor of burnt cloth. Alarms were audible in the background and the emergency lighting gave a surreal reddish cast to the environment. Groans could be heard from those few remaining bridge officers left alive. Others, too many, were silent. Boyington picked himself up off the deck where he'd been knocked to after that last hit. Speaking out loud, he said, "That was too close. Report!"

His third officer, a Lieutenant by the name of Pam Soller, her long black hair having been knocked loose of its regulation bun, came up to stand before him, cradling an arm to her chest that was clearly broken. "Admiral, the XO is dead sir. C.I.C. reports that internal communications are down but wrist-coms are still working. Main power is down but gravity and atmosphere are still good. Emergency power is up but our shields are almost gone. Engineering has already gotten them started regenerating but they estimate that with emergency power, the best we'll get is 30% of nominal, that and emergency power isn't enough to keep our main guns online, only a few point defenses. C.I.C also reports we've lost three full squadrons of fighters; the Boot Hill and the O.K. Corral each are down by four full squadrons and at least one flight element of four fighters. That last hit we took just wiped out the last of our cover fighters, but we're receiving reports now that the Slavers have lost at least half of their entire fighter complement. We've destroyed seven Slaver Cruisers at last count before Auxiliary Control took over and disabled three more. All the others are pulling back into formation around the flagship and recovering fighters to their carriers if they can; otherwise their just sitting out there and not engaging except to avoid pursuit by our forces."

Boyington nodded his head. "What about the rest of our ships? What's their status?"

Lieutenant Soller looked up from her barely functioning console and said, "We've lost three missile ships to enemy fire. All others have exhausted their ammunition and are drawing fire for the destroyers and the battleships. Of the twenty destroyers we started with, eight are completely gone except for escape pods, and five more are dead in space but still transmitting. At a guess, their engines are gone but otherwise are okay. The battleships Iwo Jima and Yamato both report having lost only a couple of barrels on their deck guns but are still in the fight sir." Holding her wrist-com up to her ear, her eyes widened and she turned back to Boyington and said, "Sir, C.I.C. reports were receiving a communication from the . . . Emperor's Flagship?"

Boyington said, "Emperor? What the hell are you saying? Put it onscreen right now." A moment later, the main screen on the bridge flickered and came to life.

Zachary Foxx's face came onscreen. "To all Crown forces. This is Major Zachary Foxx, late of the Galaxy Rangers. The Queen is dead. On my homeworld, there is a saying, a very old saying, 'You keep what you kill.' To that end, effective immediately, _I_ am taking her place as Emperor Zachariah the First. All Crown forces are hereby ordered to stand down, I say again, stand down all weapons, weapons systems and activities. All Agents of the Black Armor will take command of your individual areas and surrender your forces to the nearest League of Planets world or B.E.T.A. facility. The war is over. Reparations will be made, with interest, to all captive populations or their designated ally. That is all at this time."

Boyington couldn't stop himself as he said, "I'll be damned."

As soon as the message ended and the screen went dark, Soller listened to her wrist-com again and said, "C.I.C. confirms that the voiceprint in the message is Major er, I mean, Emperor Zachariah's to three decimal points. They also report that all but one Slaver vessel is ceasing fire at this time."

Boyington said, "Good. Relay through C.I.C. that all League forces are to cease pursuit and return to formation immediately. Can either of the battleships target that last Slaver that's still fighting?"

Soller relayed Boyington's orders, heard the reply and said, "Negative sir. Their both too far back in the formation and of our remaining destroyers, half of them are starting escape pod recovery operations and the other half is covering them." She listened to her wrist-com again, "C.I.C. just intercepted a signal to the last Slaver, the one still fighting." Listening to her wrist-com for a moment, she said, "The captain of that Slaver was identified as number 73, and it's refused to acknowledge the Emperor's command. Say's it'll take him with him instead of surrendering. The Slaver that's still fighting is too big to take out with just fighters and C.I.C. estimates they'll be in range of the Flagship in five minutes."

Boyington had walked over to the console by this time, looked at the available information, done the mental math and said, "That's it then; we're all that's left that can do anything."

Soller looked over at her commanding officer, "Sir?"

Meeting her eyes he said, "Sound the abandon ship Lieutenant Soller. All hands to the escape pods. Have Engineering and C.I.C. transfer control to my station directly and then get the hell out of here Pam."

Pam Soller tried to speak, "Done, but Sir! Automatic controls are gone; you'll have to ride it all the way!"

Boyington said, "Don't I know it Pam. _You_ are in command now, Acting Captain Soller. Get everyone moving and get off the ship. This is my final order. You and I both know what has to be done."

Pam Soller had been Greg Boyington's third officer long enough to know when his mind was made up. Saluting him smartly with her one good arm, she said, "It's been an honor serving with you Admiral. Valhalla has a special place reserved for you. Save one for me, will you?"

Boyington returned the salute and said, "Bet on it Pam."

Gathering the walking wounded with her, she left the bridge. By the time Boyington returned to his station, he could see the symbols on his own control panels that indicated several escape pods were away. Manipulating his controls, a control stick emerged from the console in front of him and a throttle control emerged from the panel at his left. When his panels told him that the last of the pods that could get away, were away, Greg Boyington took out an antique pocket watch by its golden chain, opened it to look at the picture inside of his wife and two daughters, dead now these many years. They had been among the first casualties of the war with the Crown. Putting the picture to his lips, he kissed it and set it on the panel in front of him. Addressing the cosmic ether, he said, "Sally, Belinda, Molly, I'll see you in just a few minutes." And pushed the throttle all the way to its stops and using the control stick, centered the Slaver Cruiser in his sights.

**Emperor Zachariah's Flagship, Throne Room**

Looking at his screen, Zach watched helplessly as the Laredo plowed full throttle into the Slaver Cruiser that had just oriented its guns on him. Unable to stop himself he yelled out, "Gregory!" When the explosion cleared and there was only debris left over, some of it still aflame as the last of the internal atmosphere bled out into space, Zach slouched into the throne like a marionette with its strings cut. Allowing himself for now, only a moment to mourn the passing of his oldest friend, Zach sat back up in the throne and touched a control on the arm of the chair. A moment later, 1138's face came onscreen.

"How may I serve you at this time, my Liege?" Asked 1138.

Zach said, "1138, begin assisting with recovery operations, our own forces as well as the League forces. I know that since this is the personal ship of the Emperor there is an extensive medical facility on board. Any League or League ally survivors picked up will be treated as needed. Also, put me in contact with Admiral Boyington's replacement."

1138 answered, "At once my Lord."

A minute later, a woman came onscreen, her black hair put up in a hasty bun to keep it out of her face, and an arm in a splint until she could have the bones repaired. "Brevet Captain Pam Soller reporting Emperor Zachariah; how can I help?"

Zach softened his voice a little and said, "I've ordered this ship as well as the remainder of my escort fleet to render assistance with recovery operations. We have a medical facility aboard my ship here that will help with the overflow. Please coordinate with the skippers of the Boot Hill, O.K. Corral, Iwo Jima and Yamato to supply a portion of a prize crew for each ship left in my escort fleet, until more permanent arrangements can be made. All of my ships will be aiding with all offensive systems shut down cold and locked out, so there will be no possibility of an accident. Please contact me here through Agent of the Black 1138 if you have any questions or concerns."

Pam Soller nodded, "Thank you sir."

Zach nodded his head and closed the channel. Just then, William's voice rang out through the throne room, "Dad! The Queen lied! I found Mom's crystal and it's fine!"

Zach felt the breath in his chest catch as William ran up to him holding a shining psychocrystal in his hand. Handing it to his father, he perched on one arm of the throne. As soon as he took the crystal in his hands, Aliza's face shone in the facets and it started to glow brightly. Not caring who saw him, Zachary Foxx, Emperor Zachariah, cried tears of happiness, sadness, relief and hope all mixed together.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 20**

**Earth, Longshot**

It had been several months since the final battle with the Queen's forces. True to his word, Zach had abdicated the throne as soon as a provisional government had been installed. Agents everywhere were being awakened from the control of the Queen. Many, like Zulé, had recovered their sense of self and became intent on making amends for all the cruelty they'd inflicted on others. Still more were unable to cope with the guilt and quietly committed suicide or went catatonic and were placed in safe wards for observation. Also true to his word, Zach had turned himself over for disciplinary action. In conjunction with his sterling service record, Niko's testimony that Zach hadn't been in his right mind when he'd killed the Queen had helped the Convening Authority come to a finding of 'not guilty'. He would've been 'less than honorably' discharged but Commander Walsh's unexpected request for retirement and naming Zachary Foxx as his successor had stopped that before it could be processed. Faced with the choice of a lifelong politician in the post of Commander for the Galaxy Rangers or a long time Ranger, the Convening Authority decided on Zachary Foxx. To that end, he'd been kept very busy overseeing the reorganization of the Galaxy Rangers, now that the Queen was gone, as well as assisting the provisional government see to the absorption of the former crown forces into the League of Planets.

He stood in the Waking Room just down the corridor from the Stasis Chamber. Aliza laid on a bed in a basic hospital gown, her long brown hair framed her too pale, but oh so beautiful face. In the center of her chest was the companion psychocrystal to the one in his hand. Since there had never been a similar case of psychocrystal reunification after so long apart from its host, it had been decided to only have Zach in the room with Aliza. It wasn't known if the persona within the crystal would have been aware of the passage of time or not. Zach took a deep breath and gently placed the crystal in his hand against its mate on Aliza's chest. There was a soft 'click' as the two crystal faces came into contact and immediately, the crystal was reabsorbed into Aliza's body. Only a few moments passed but already, her complexion deepened a little as did her breathing. Pulling up a chair, Zach took the glove off his flesh hand and put it over Aliza's and resolved to sit there for as long as it took. About an hour passed before Aliza opened her eyes slowly at first. She tried to speak but Zach just said, "Don't rush it honey. A little at a time; you're okay now."

In the months since Zach's return to Earth with Aliza's crystal, her unconscious body had been through a mild rehabilitative cycle. Even in stasis, a body too long in one position experienced some atrophy but not as much as one might think.

Helping Aliza into a sitting position and handing her a cup of water, she sipped at it slowly. Running her fingers through the gray at his temples and across the slight crows feet at the corner of his eyes, she cleared her throat and said, "Zach . . . how long was I under?"

Not trying to hide the concern in his voice, he said, "Before I answer, what do you remember? Anything? The doctors want me to ask, otherwise, I'd answer you."

Aliza said, "I remember being captured by that Paraboid, Kidd and being handed over to some Agents after a large bag of money was handed to him for me. I remember being scared out of my mind at first and then meeting the Queen of the Crown. I remember walking into the psychocrypt with my head held high. I wasn't about to give that hag the satisfaction of seeing me grovel for mercy. And I remember holding to your face and the faces of our children in my mind and knowing that someday, I would see all of you again, then a bright flash of red light . . . darkness, cold, a sense of floating. Not much else. I can tell from the gray in your hair, which looks very handsome on you by the way, that I've been away for a long time."

Zach swallowed and said, "You've been gone for about twelve years Aliza." Zach put his head down on her shoulder and started to cry, "I'm so sorry I didn't get you sooner! I'm so sorry!"

Cradling his head on her shoulder she said, "Don't worry about it love. Don't worry. I forgive you."

Aliza held Zach to her for a few minutes and then when he was done crying, he said, "There are two people you should meet if you're up to it."

Aliza nodded her head. As she did, her son and daughter both came into the room, hesitantly at first. Looking at her now adult children, Aliza felt herself begin to tear up. Jessica was first, "Mommy!" and embraced her mother tightly. William was next, a little more reserved, only a little, and embraced his mother too.

Aliza gasped out, "Oh my children! My children, how I have waited!"


	22. Chapter 22

**Epilogue, whatever became of . . .?**

Zachary Foxx and his wife Aliza went on to have two more children, a girl first and then another boy. Aliza, while chronologically 45, still had the healthy body of 33 year old, Zachary was still young at 47. Their second daughter was named for Aliza's mother Marie and their second son was named Gregory Boyington Foxx, for Zach's long time friend. Zach went on to command the Galaxy Rangers for thirty years. After going back to school and getting a doctorate in computer science, Aliza helped Dr. Nagata create a series of human replica android bodies to house the brains of the awakened Agents which allowed them to disperse into the population of the Galaxy at large without attracting undue attention. The two passed away within days of each other at the age of 120 and 118 respectively, surrounded by their grown children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Shane Gooseman and Niko were both given command of their own teams of series 5 Rangers shortly after the final battle. They were married; just as they planned, soon after and went on to have three children of their own, two boys and a girl, named Daltrey, Connor and Ariel respectively. Shane went to Joseph Walsh, and asked point blank if he was his father. When Joseph answered 'yes', Shane hit him for not telling him sooner, and didn't talk to him again for over a year, even then it was only briefly. It was at Niko's insistence that their children get to know their grandfather and finally Shane relented. Eventually, the two became friends. After long careers in the Rangers, the two retired to the planet Ozark and lived out the remainder of their lives as grandparents. Niko was never allowed back into the Circle of Thought but one day, well into her 160's, while Niko was meditating, she made conscious contact with the Unity and was offered ascension. Shane was allowed to accompany her into the Unity. Their bodies vanished in a flash of purest white light. Their children and grandchildren, all gifted with a unique combination of their father's bio-defenses and their mother's PSI abilities commune with them to this day from time to time.

Though Walter 'Doc' Hartford and Maya had been married by Maya's Staff of Power, they were married again in a public ceremony for the benefit of the people the same year as the final battle, with all their friends in attendance. Five years later, Tarkon became the newest member of the League of Planets. Doc chose not to resign from the Rangers but instead became the Commanding Officer of a Ranger detachment there on Tarkon. Doc and Maya had two children, fraternal twins, named Luke and Leia after two of the heroes of Doc's favorite twentieth century movie saga, who were raised to rule together wisely and justly. Doc eventually got the Heart of Tarkon to talk to him and the two had many long discussions over the years. Upon their passing, with grandchildren of their own near, Doc and Maya were immortalized in stone at the spaceport that bears their name.

Q-Ball eventually got his own support sled for his brain after his body wore out and continues to conduct Research and Development at the Longshot facility on Earth with Buzzwang close at hand.

Zozo and Waldo both returned to their native worlds after many more years of service to B.E.T.A. and the League of Planets. Their memoirs are required reading in the Diplomatic Corps.

Of Zulé the artist, not much is known. He turned down the offer of the first human replica android developed by Dr. Nagata and Dr. Aliza Foxx. It's been said that he consulted on the statue of Doc and Maya on Tarkon but this has never been verified. There are occasional sightings of an Agent whose armor is chipped and faded from exposure to sunlight and the elements, who paints and sculpts, but these too, have never been verified.

The Galaxy Rangers still patrol the New Frontier, its members still dedicated to the highest ideals of law and order. The original series 5 rangers, Zachary Foxx, Shane 'Goose' Gooseman, Niko (Gooseman) and Walter 'Doc' Hartford are considered legends and held up as the ideal to strive for by Rangers everywhere, male, female, alien, human or humanoid derivative.

It's been said that every now and again, if you listen hard enough to the ether of hyperspace or the solar winds between worlds, sometimes, just sometimes, you can just hear a voice somewhere singing something that sounds like, _"No guts, no glory . . ."_

**The End**


End file.
